Her Name In Blood
by Ekoaleko
Summary: A hellish storm settles upon Flower Bud Village, and its inhabitants grow eerily murderous. Before you know it, mass murder ensues, followed by just about every genre: mystery, horror, humour, romance. Mixed pairings, complete. Going through revision.
1. Dead, dead, dead!

A/N: Hey, and welcome readers, new and old. This was my first story on the site. (Chapter one edited on 1/5/08.) It's basically a long, twisted tale of horror and suspense, with intentional mystery, romance, and humour scattered here and there. I've touched it up and added a few things, fixed up spelling and grammatical errors and things like that. After editing, this chapter was much longer, somehow, but I promise there will be more happenings later on. And above all, please, please note this is **rated T** for good reason.

This story was originally finished October 7. I don't know why the hell it says January 5.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon or Zeus, for the matter. Violence.

Her Name In Blood

The girl bowed her head down in the direction of the tombstone, the newest addition to Gates Cemetery, letting her stray curls slap her eyes which had dulled from a vibrant, fluorescent cerulean blue to a distant, metallic cobalt. She stared at the grave for so long that its greyness started to fog her vision, melding her surroundings into one big grey swirl. She remained in that position for a few moments before crouching down and sweeping back her brunette hair to read the block words engraved in the stone freshly.

**IN LOVING MEMORY OF WALLACE **

**AN AMAZING CHEF, FRIEND, AND GRANDPA **

**HAD A LONG, FULL LIFE **

**WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN**

She stopped reading when her eyes descended to the date of his death. Unthinking, she picked up a stray mound of rocks from the ground and scratched it against the words until they faded, never to be read again. Her chest heaved, but not a single thought ran through her head.

Remorsefully, she laid a single Moondrop flower to the ragged dirt, but otherwise didn't move a muscle. A grave silence washed through her, still unfathomably watching—listening. She reached out and touched the curve of the tombstone, stroking it as if it would grant her some sort of spiritual connection to the deceased man.

She touched the dirt beneath her without warning. It felt empty…hollow. The dirt seemed thin enough to let her fingers sink through. But it wasn't. That very dirt contained a human—a coffin. A _body_—

Her grandpa.

She surveyed the grounds, still moving nothing but her heavy-lidded eyes as they flickered from grave to grave. Each looked older and greyer than the last. It was like she'd landed in the feudal era after a long, hard war, streaming with blood and sweat. The ground looked vast and it was infested with yellow weeds, which battled with the quaint and unfitting bright flowers to the side.

It was hard to believe this abandoned field was the home of many dead bodies of people who had lived great, forgotten lives, her grandpa among them. It was also quite angering—after a funeral cluttered with people, none but her who genuinely wept, all was back to normal again. Her life would never be the same, and there everyone else was, living casually and carefree. She was just another one of a million with a burden no one wanted to halve. She was alone with the heavy pain in her chest, alone with all the troubles her grandfather forced her to inherit.

Her empty eyes circled and stopped as they fell back upon the grave in front of her, the anger faltering and once again leaving nothing in its wake.

She realized, for the first time, how cold she was getting. Not her whole body—just her hand; the one resting on the tombstone. It was as if the ghost of her grandfather had sat down by her side, taking her hand in his intangible one. Yet it wasn't warm and nurturing like it used to be. It was icy and sharp and stung as if there was an open flesh wound at the back of her hand that was being peeled off by the scream of the wind.

She wondered, if the wind could scream, what would it say?

Probably something along the lines of how it felt: Dead, dead, dead.

_Dead._

A violent squeeze rose to the girl's abdomen, clenching it and not letting go. It felt dead. Her hand felt dead. Standing above her dead grandfather, _she _felt dead. Her lips parted, but it was only moments later that she spoke.

"Dead, dead, dead," she whispered, her chant growing louder with each passing "dead". She stood up and started screaming the words; it was the only way she could let out the sudden stress piling up in her chest. "DEAD, DEAD, DEAD! DEAD, DEAD, DEAD!"

Suddenly she slammed herself against the tombstone, sobbing tearlessly. "_Murder…_"

As if out of the thick mist the cemetery was surrounded by, a figure walked up beside her, his eyes hidden beneath the shroud and his lips stringing between a frown and a grin. There was something in his aura about him that proved he wasn't just another passerby or bystander.

The girl stared at him, her dead eyes collecting before her eyes and fitting the pieces like a puzzle scattered on the floor.

"You…" she stammered, and a thousand memories burst into her head. Her little voice blossomed into a bloodcurling shriek. "YOU KILLED H-HIM! YOU…YOU KILLED…!" A breathless moan made her breath hitch and she covered her face with her hands, delusional. "Stop, stop, stop, stop…not again…please, no…"

Her body, which was rigid and fuelled by fear, turned flaccid and frail. She was paralysed, unmoving; weak…and she could barely lift a finger before the man strode up to her and grabbed her by the chin, as if he would kiss her. "S-stop," the girl whispered, unable to find the preceding strength of her voice. "D-don't do…w-what you did…to him…" But she knew already it was just a plea that would not be fulfilled.

The man eyed her with full amusement, and finally his lips found guidance and curled into a derisive grin. He slid his gloved hand behind his back, bathing in the treasured horror on the girl's face as he pulled out a gleaming blade, unsheathed and hungry for flesh.

"STOP! You don't…why?" the girl hollered, feeling her mind tumble into an abyss, and her control over herself flee her. "Would…how…"

The man stood, ignoring her low wails. He took a steady step forward, his knuckles growing fierce with her screams.

With one swift, staccato movement, he gripped her by the throat and dug a knife into her stomach, letting it plunge all the way through and out at the back near her spinal cord. Little spurts of blood spilled down the backs of her thighs as her mouth hung open, secretive blood oozing out.

Wordlessly, he continued digging the knife back in and out only to launch it back in again, the girl enumerating each stab as her knees fell from beneath her. The man caught her and shoved her roughly into the tombstone so her bloodied back arched toward him, just to receive another painful slash to her flesh. Her skin now glowed red with a sick gleam of a rose.

When the man brought the blade fully back out for the sixteenth time, dipped in cherry red blood and acidic tears of her frail body—he stopped instead of plunging it back into her. He inclined the knife to the sky as if asking her if she opted for any last words. She did.

"Dead, dead, dead!" she cried meekly, her last breath slithering down her throat and spilling out of the open gaps of her body.

She didn't even scream as silver punctured her flesh for the last time.

**xoxo**

""_Early reports have found sightings of a girl, known as Katie by her family (who requested that their last name was not given), seventeen, dead in the middle of Gates Cemetery Sunday afternoon. She was covered in blood and it was obvious she had been stabbed a well dozen times. Thorough details are still being investigated._

""_Seventeen holes, I counted," one reporter, nameless, says. "What a terrible way to die. It's unforgivable." _

"_Reports also say the killer made it quite obvious the girl was intentionally stabbed, considering he or she had left the knife by her corpse. To make matters worse, she died standing above the grave of her grandfather, who had too been stabbed, one hand clasped on his tombstone. Concerned that this is no coincidence, her family has been brought to a shelter for protection. _

"_More info on the knife, it is believed that"_

Dia reacted once the shivers on her spine led all the way to her throat. "_Stop reading that_!" she shrieked, interrupting the opposing girl mid-sentence. She leaned over and tried to yank Monday's paper out of the other girl's hand, but to no avail. Her bobbed black hair swung as she made another attempt to snatch it.

"Dia! What's the matter?" her blue-haired caretaker and best friend, not much older than her, responded, pulling the papers out of reach and oblivious to her obvious discomfort.

"I don't want you reading that. It's…doesn't it unnerve you?" Dia protested, trying hard to make her point. She blinked, and for a moment a flashing image of a corpse spun through her.

She made another desperate act to grab the paper, but again it was pulled away.

"Relax, Dia. It's not like this happened to any of us," her caretaker tried to soothe her softly.

"So? Doesn't…doesn't the sight of blood make you queasy? Doesn't murder scare you at all?" Her breath caught. It wasn't often that she talked about things like this with anyone else—even her closest friend. She waited for a response.

The nurse reached out and touched her hand gently, pausing. "Dia…it's not like that. You shouldn't worry so much. I bet they even made up the story…"

"I don't care!" Dia interrupted harshly, letting her innocent disguise vanish. Her hand shot out, palm-up, six inches from the blue-haired girl's pale face. "Give me that, Gina…!"

Gina sighed before stuffing it into her hands in a slow, languid gesture. "I don't see why it matters…" she grumbled. But inside, she worried. Dia had been a patient since she had arrived in town, ordered to take care of her. Dia was a definite mystery—arriving at the doorstep of the sanatorium in the hands of a rich, upperclass woman, and sick since anyone could remember. She showed symptoms that no one else had had before, and constant thoughts of blood and murder. Not even her mother seemed to know what was wrong with her.

"It's disgusting," Dia suddenly said, her brows furrowed in clear distress. Gina couldn't tell if she was talking about the story or the blood—or both. "And I really don't want to hear it. I mean, how would _you _feel if—"

The two girls were interrupted by a blatant, sudden clasp of thunder followed by needle-like rain, so sudden that neither could have predicted it.

"Look at that…" Dia observed, relatively calm compared to Gina, whose face was twisted in horror. "What a downpour. I remember I read this myth once, about a god named Zeus. He was very powerful. I wonder if he's in up there right now, in a duel with the Harvest Goddess… like a war in the sky…"

Gina ignored her rambling and swept the blinds over the window with one vigorous movement.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Dia protested.

Gina eyed her cautiously yet warily. "Dia," she said at long length, "I want you to get some rest. Martha has to bring the clothes and everything in. In the meantime, I'm going downstairs to do some paperwork."

She picked herself up off the rocking chair strewn in the middle of the carpeted second floor, followed by Dia, who quickly scooted her chair out from under the tall, round table.

"I'm coming," she piped up, with no intention to change her mind.

Gina shot her a square look, one that sent a subliminal message to Dia that said, "_Fine, be that way_." Dia reached out to put the paper back into the bookcase's archive when they heard a loud crack.

"What was that!?" Gina jolted and hugged her arms, clearly shaken up.

"Relax, it's probably just the thunder," Dia assured her. "Thunder won't harm us."

"Maybe it's the murderer!" Gina blurted out.

Dia faltered for a moment, but then went completely still. Gina was about to ask her if she was okay when she demanded, "Did you hear that?" She looked in the direction of the winding staircase and made a beeline for it.

"Stop trying to scare me!" squealed Gina, shrinking back. "Dia! Where are you going? …Hey! Are you listening to me?"

But Dia said nothing. "Do you hear it?" she asked after a few moments, as if she were talking to herself.

Gina opened her mouth to berate her on how immature she could be when she heard knocking.

"Someone's at the door!" Dia confirmed. She looked worriedly at an exposed part of the window and then back down the stairs. "I'll go answer it!"

"Hey, wait!" Gina exclaimed as Dia rushed away. She thought up an excuse. "You're supposed to be in bed!"

Unheard, she lifted one knee to run after her but she quickly hightailed back to the table where Dia had previously sat instead. She grabbed Monday's paper, rolled it up and stuck it into the side of her long skirt, then hurried after Dia, who was calling her name.

**xoxo**

"Who's there? What's wrong?" Gina exclaimed the instant her feet hit the bottom landing. She looked at Dia, who had been relentlessly shouting "Gina! Come quick!" until she had arrived.

"Doctor Alex is bleeding!" Dia stood almost cautiously by the corner of the room, pressed up against the wall. Her eyes trailed to the bloody wound and she squeezed her eyes shut, breathing hard.

Gina was torn between comforting her and Alex. However, she was twice as alarmed—partly because she had a major crush on Alex only she and Dia knew about, Dia sworn to secrecy. She and Alex had worked side-by-side ever since she had applied, and soon she found herself fond of more than just his partnership. But another _–ship_…

She spotted Alex by the closed doorway taking deep lungfuls of breath, his white trench coat soaked to the point where it had turned see-through. She decided this was no time to be daydreaming and approached him slowly. She took him by the arm, scanning the handsome features on his face, crestfallen. "Are you okay?" she asked when their gazes met.

"I'm fine," Alex replied, but his dark eyes told differently. They locked onto Dia as she stepped up, pointing ludicrously at his shoulder, which was gushing blood out of an open, searing gash, obviously planted in deeply.

"Does that look fine to you? " she hissed, jabbing him in the chest with her finger pointedly. "Stop trying to act like mister nice guy! Clearly you're bleeding! You're a doctor, aren't you? Shouldn't you of all people realize this?"

Alex looked taken aback at first, but then his features relaxed and he just sighed.

"Fine, fine, I'm hurt," he admitted, looking like he was suppressing an eye-roll.

"What happened?" Gina demanded shrilly, absolutely terrified as she spotted his shoulder for the first time. "What happened to your shoulder?" Panic rose to her throat; sank to her knees; throbbed in her chest. Panic exploded and gushed everywhere.

"Well, I was walking back from the Moonlight Cave when—arrgh…" He winced in emphasized pain when Gina's braid touched his wound.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she cried. Before he could finish his story, she sped off. "Hang on, I'll get Martha!"

Now Alex and Dia were alone. Tensions were high, as Dia relented a death glare on him.

"Go on," she pressed when a heavy silence ensued, sounding very pissed off.

"Oh—er—yeah." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Well, I was coming back from the cave with Pontata Roots, right? And Jamie's dog came out of nowhere and started barking at me, outside the fence, no collar or anything. So I tried to calm it down but it didn't really work. And then…I dunno."

"And then he bit you," Dia finished bitterly.

Alex gave her a modest shrug. "Yeah. And then before I knew it, the sky was all dark, and it started raining and storming and everything right out of nowhere." He paused briefly. "I thought you were terrified of storms."

Dia looked offended. "Excuse me, Doctor, but this is thunder. Thunder won't harm me. What's there to be afraid of?" She felt superior speaking such strong words, and his response shocked her.

"Just because it won't harm you, it doesn't give you any reason not to be scared…"

It took her a while to snap back, absorbing in his words with a sting. "But I'm not scared of it. And that's that," Dia cut him off sharply, the finality in her voice signalling for him to shut up.

Luckily, the awkward moment had passed, and Gina had rushed back into the room, nearly bowling the two over. Alex looked up at her from under his dark eyebrows, but his eyes quickly directed to the elderly woman who had appeared at Gina's side, looking puzzled. Martha looked at Alex, then Dia, then Alex's shoulder, and nearly jolted.

"What in the world?!" she exclaimed, her beady eyes widening at the sight of the massive wound. "Alex!!"

He sighed. "Dog bite," he summarized shortly.

"Dog bite?" Gina seemed the most fazed of everyone, Martha in a close second. "What if it has rabies? Whose dog? We can sue!"

"It's okay, Gina," Alex assured her, but Martha stepped up quickly.

"It is not okay, Alex!" she snapped. "Now let me check it out before I need to lay you on a stretcher!" She took his arm and dragged him worriedly to the examination room, Alex stumbling at her heels. The door snapped shut behind her, leaving the room silent besides the chipping rain on the roof.

"I really hope Alex doesn't have rabies…" Gina prayed after a silence, her brown eyes filled with sorrow. "Well, not just rabies, but anything."

"He'll be okay," Dia told her, wondering what her excuse would be if he wasn't. A question rose to her throat, and then quickly burst out like a balloon with too much helium. "Gina, may I go to the Jamie Ranch for a little while?"

Gina looked bug-eyed at her, her glasses framing the size her eyes had stretched to. "In the rain? In the storm? Just after you saw what happened to Alex there?" she demanded. "Are you insane, Dia? Do you want to be killed? Especially in the condition you're in too!"

Dia sighed at her caretaker, who had now probably thought she'd gone loopy. "Um, never mind," she mumbled before she could continue, wondering why she even asked. _It was a sudden question. I don't even know where it came from. But I've been feeling strange lately and…it feels like if I go there I'll find an answer to all my questions…_

She stiffened when she felt eyes on her. "I'm going to bed now," she announced before Gina could ask her what in the world was going through her head. In many ways, she was a mirror image of Martha. "Um, goodnight."

She felt the young nurse's chestnut eyes on her back as she bustled back up the oak wood stairs hastily. When she got to the top, already in her pyjamas, she turned off the fluorescent lights and laid down on the white hospital bed, staring at the ceiling.

She tugged on the thin covers and shut her eyes, listening to the melodic rain as it washed the whole world away, right beneath their feet—right under the Goddess's tears.

It didn't take her long to realize she couldn't sleep. She rolled onto her side, sighing, when a torrent of images rushed through her head.

_Blood. Touch it. Taste it. Feel it. _

"What?" She sat up, panting, and looking around frantically. No one had said anything…but her own mind. She burrowed back into bed, her eyes wide open.

_Blood…_

**xoxo**

Jamie stabbed the blade of his hoe into the uneven dirt, cursing when the rain continued to pour down. He'd spent all morning and afternoon tilling the soil to prepare for his seasonal crops when rain had started to come down, condemning his efforts and pretty much putting all the work he'd done that day in vain. It was like Man versus World—and clearly a losing battle.

He took the hoe by its sturdy wooden handle and yanked at it until it shot out of the ground, nearly hitting him in the nose with impact. He brought it grudgingly to his side in his left hand before crouching down to collect his things that had scattered amongst the mud-tainted pools of water and got ready to head back inside.

At least the snake of sweat that had slithered its way down the nape of his neck, his back, and face had been washed away by the rainfall. But that was the only good thing the rain had done that he could think of. The end of the season was approaching, so it wasn't like the crops were benefiting or anything. All in all, he would be the loser, the one stuck empty-handedly in the rain.

"Cal!" Jamie called into the open mist. "Come, boy!"

Cal was his small but energetic Jack Russell Terrier. He had had him for a while, actually. It all started one afternoon when Jamie was walking down the dirt path by Sunny Lake, pissed off because Jack, his farming rival was, rumour had it, thriving financially. Jamie was thriving financially as well, but somehow he felt less proud when he discovered Jack shared the same fate. It was like he couldn't feel like he was winning unless he was better.

Just as he was about to exit Sunny Lake, a small dog appeared by a lone tree stump, whining and mewling to him wistfully like a lost kitten. Harnessing the kindness in his heart, he took the stray in—but, just to lash out his anger in the least violent way possible, he gave it a stupid name. Cal-something… what had he named it again? Calvertutrp. Oh yeah.

"Cal!!" Jamie hollered again, feeling irritated as a roar of thunder bellowed back at him in reply. "Hurry up! I'm soaking wet!"

He heard no barking. No sniffing. No nothing.

Cursing and muttering to himself, he stowed his things in the low roots of a tree, but kept the hoe with him. He set out of his farm, past the gates and past the house, in hopes of finding his dog.

From above, the storm raged on, appearing to grow even more ruthless with each passing minute, more thunder splattering the ravenous sky like bloodied veins.


	2. You're Killing Her

A/N: Aaaaand chapter two! Lol, I'm having one of those writing spurts at the moment, where I write a lot in little amount of time due to sudden inspiration. I was going to postpone this chapter, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to put it up anyway. This one is fifty times less gory than the fist chapter, and much less dark and eerie too- but that will change quickly, mind you.

Thanks, **The Scarlet Sky** for reviewing!

**Disclaimer**: Only the storyline belongs to me. Characters, nada.

Her Name In Blood

Blue was sprawled out on his back, settled comfortably on top of the storage crates at the Blue Sky Ranch tool shed. His eyes descended on the array of backup hoes and milkers festooning the shoddy brown wall and wondered why they couldn't just put them in the crates, instead of hanging midair where they could easily nail anyone coming into the tool shed in the head. Then he looked back down at himself and fiddled with his pant-soaken jeans, which were now ripped at the bottom. Odd; he'd been cooped up for so long he was amused by things that usually were nuisances to him. And since when did he fiddle? He only did that when he was nervous.

Blue's eyes met with Bob's for one of the first times. He took it as a greeting and waved wholeheartedly; again, not like himself. Bob just nodded lazily at him, when normally he would've bubbled out a monstrous laugh and mega loud "HEYLLO!"

Bob was sitting across from him, leaning against the wall, his foot tapping in the rhythm of the preluding rain. He looked preoccupied. Blue had never seen anyone do so little yet be so amused.

He looked down at the rip in his jeans he'd just drawn out, and realized he too was a victim of it. He laid back down and counted the tools on the wall for what seemed like forever.

Blue glanced occasionally at Bob, as if meaning to say something if he were glanced back again. He felt as if he _had _to talk to someone; he'd been in there for so long…

But Bob never even looked at him, so he kept his mouth shut. It was already a rare occurrence for Blue to bring up conversation, but after being stuck in a shed for so long in such a tense, dreary silence, outside felt more like the apocalypse than a measly storm.

Bob looked up at him. Bingo!

"Hey, where do you think Uncle and Ellen are?" He tried not to sound as giddy as he felt. For the first time ever, it felt good to hear the sound of his voice.

Bob, however, didn't compensate. "Dunno," he grunted shortly.

"Well, where do you _think_?"

"I _said_, dunno."

It was as if Bob and Blue's bodies had switched.

"Can we go now?" Blue whined, more un-Blue than he had ever been in his life.

"Be my guest, if you wanna get caught up in the storm!" Bob snapped.

Blue's eyes grew heavy-lidded with reminiscing. A few hours ago, he and Bob had been out of work for once to go pick up an order of shipments from Spring Farm. Spring Farm was their rival in farming and competition, so he didn't know why they couldn't just pick up shipments from the Jamie Ranch or the Jack Ranch.

When they'd arrived at the store, all was still bright and sunny. Not even humid. But when Blue took one step out of the building, it had begun to downpour. And of course, it wasn't like he could wait the storm over inside the building of their rival. It was tense enough to begin with- and Nina's stupid constant giggling didn't help.

"_Teehee! Teehee! TEEHEE! TEEHEE!" _

So they'd ran back to the Blue Sky Ranch as fast as they could, miraculously not dropping anything. They pounded on the door of the house/main shop for what seemed like hours, but there was no reply. Soaked wrinkly, they opted to stay in the shed, which was presumably better than staying in the barn or chicken coop where it smelled of manure and rotten eggs. Now, the latest shipment crates lay under Blue's feet.

He sat up all the way. "Bob, I'm booored," Blue whined.

Bob just gave him the old fish-eye. "And to think one little storm could do this to you.'

One mighty clash of lightning. Blue thought he could _feel _the shed tremble.

"…Can we go now?" he ventured into the silence, making his voice drone so it sounded like it echoed.

"No," Bob said again.

Silence once more.

Then, "…Bob?"

"_What, Blue?!_" Bob snapped, perceptibly aggravated.

Blue opened his mouth and shut it. Then he looked around the shed, at the door, and finally at Bob.

"I have to use the washroom."

**xoxo**

Jack sat at the foot of his bed, which was pushed against the wall inside his upgraded house on the ocean property. He didn't know it, but like everyone else in Flower Bud Village: he was bored. Scared at first, yes, but now leaning mostly towards bored.

What could he say? Farming was his life. He was a farmer. He lived on a farm. It was like he was built to be outside- at least, not trapped inside. He sprang to his feet and peered out his single window. All was dark outside, save the puffs of mist here and there. What time was it, even?

Wordlessly, seeing as there was no one around to talk to but his female Golden Retriever (who he'd ingeniously named 'Kat') he switched on his TV, waiting for the weather broadcast to show up. Nothing. Then black, twitchy static that made his eyes burn.

Almost instantly, he flipped to the next channel based on horoscopes and psychology. Jack believed that was a load of crap and never visited that station- but now, it felt like a lifeline to him.

Weirdly enough, the station worked. He sat through "An Aquarius: Ornery" for the next half-hour in spite of himself, seeing as his birthday was in winter. The second the program ended, he stood up and manually switched off the television, just to prove how terrible it was. Bitterly, he edged towards the cabinet to fetch dog food for Kat when he stopped dead in his tracks.

Kat was nowhere to be seen.

"Kat?" Jack cried. Not only was he a farmer, but a rancher- a rancher who deeply remorsed for his animals. "Kat!"

He jogged up back to his bed, even though it was only a few feet away, and stuck his head under it. Kat's matted bed contained nothing but shed fur and claws.

Horrified, Jack listened to the pounding storm and grew agonized. He wouldn't let his puppy die out there! He thought back, all the way to the first day he moved to the petite village several months ago. Ellen, the cute worker at the Blue Sky Ranch had showed up at his door, looking for not a date- but an opportunity to give away the dog. At the time, the dog's paws were drenched in mud and dirt, fur a sweaty mess and size a scrawny ruin. Jack would've slammed the door to keep the dog from getting manure all over his doormat if only Ellen hadn't been so damn adorable! He took the pup in, just for her sake. Then he'd named it Kat, because of course at the time he thought it was hilarious. When he received a raised eyebrow from Ellen, he thought differently- but it was already too late.

He was stuck with it.

Without second thought, he grabbed his hoe in case of any tricky encounters and an old, worn jacket he figured would make a suitable raincoat. Kicking at the door until it blasted open, he realized turning the knob and opening it would have been an alternative, but shut it behind him as he ran against the horizontal flow of the twisting wind and rain.

**xoxo**

Gina stood up the exact instant Martha emerged from the examination room, tweezing off her clear green gloves.

Martha spoke before Gina could, already knowing what the girl would say.

"He'll be alright."

Gina's uneven breath slowed rhythmically. "Thank the Goddess."

Martha swept past her and to the sink, turning the knobs until the water turned warm. "Thank me," she muttered, scrubbing her hands with specialty soap.

"Will you be staying the night here, Martha?"

Martha and Alex usually stayed at the clinic, which was the next building down from where they were now. Dia and Gina stayed at the sanatorium, mainly because Gina had to take care of Dia. Both buildings ran the same, however.

"I believe I am. I don't think it'd be a good idea to be outside for even a second in that weather!" Martha observed, looking at the door as if it were dripping blood.

"That's what I said to Dia!" Gina said before she could stop herself.

"Oh?" Martha raised her eyebrows. "And what did Dia say to make you do that?"

"I- uhm," Gina stuttered. She didn't want to cause Dia anymore trouble. Life was frustrating enough for the frail girl already. "Nothing."

"Gina."

"Well." She knew there was no escaping Martha's coil. "She asked me if she could go to Jamie Ranch."

"Right after Alex was bitten?" Martha said, not quite believing.

"That's what I said too." Gina looked bitterly up the stairs. "But I'm sure it's no problem. She probably wanted to check things out for herself."

"Certainly it is!" Martha said harshly, starting for the cabinet. "I'll brew her up a nice vegetable shake with some pills we recently got. Her head will be fine in no time."

Somehow, this offended Gina. "Nothing is wrong with her head!" she rebuked.

Martha was surprised, but waved the look off as quickly as it came. "You know she's a sick girl. There's no telling what symptoms she'll come up with these days."

Gina scowled. "You're her doctor and you don't even have faith in her!"

Martha frowned back at her. "And you do?"

Her words stung Gina. "Of course I do!" she spat, but only her voice was sincere. "But even if I didn't-" her blood boiled further when Martha raised her eyebrows- "I would act like I did! This girl needs some hope, too! Are scales and charts all you think about? What if the Goddess decides to cure her one day, what if-"

Martha's face twisted in anger. "Stop saying 'if'! If, if, if! If what? What will happen, Gina? What if she suddenly gets better? Regardless of the Goddess's existence, miracles do not exist! And a miracle is what this girl needs!" Her last words broke out along the syllables, and then she bit her bottom lip, as if regrettably. She gave the shocked nurse-in-training a solemn look before continuing in a relatively softer, but just as firm voice.

"Gina, this is not a case of whether or not we think she can make it. Think is a word doctors try to avoid. It's a case of whether or not she _will _make it, in which case, I highly doubt-"

But Gina didn't let her finish. She shot her a glare that nearly made slits in her glass lenses. "And I think I know! It's because of you! You and your stupid potions! What are you, the Witch Princess? How come every time the littlest thing happens you go and get her more medicine? Dia _hates _medicine! She hates pills! You know she can barely swallow them! Sometimes they make her choke!"

Martha was speechless for the first time, so Gina tiraded on, pounding her fist against the wall with emphasis.

"And that medicine? You know that medicine, Martha?" she hissed, malice coating her words. "She throws it out the window sometimes. It's that bad. How can you give her that horrid stuff?" She held her hand up in a stop motion when Martha's mouth creaked open. "No. Don't give me that 'regardless, it'll make her feel better' crap." She mirrored Martha's voice as if she were Big Bird.

"Clearly it's not making her better!" Gina's voice pierced the musty tension once more, and that only made her angrier. "Dia will never be better!" she shrieked. "She's a sick, weak girl and she always will be! If you're all so disbelieving, it's no wonder she's not better! You need _life _to _live_! And you're killing her!"

Gina breathed, long and hard. Her words seemed to soak into herself faster than they had Martha, because when she realized what she'd just said, her eyes widened and she clasped her hands over her mouth, as if disallowing anymore words to come out. Little did she know, she'd just spilled out some of Dia's deepest, darkest secrets. She waited for Martha to say something, but she never did. Instead, she slammed down the gloves that lay limply in her right hand and stormed into the other waiting room, her eyes filled not only with sorrow- but with fury.

Gina sank down to her knees and onto the muddy, sloshy floor. "What have I done?"

**xoxo**

Dia swallowed a mound of dry saliva, one hand on the top railing. She peered down tearfully at Gina, who was in a knot on the ground.

How could she? How could her best friend- Gina of all people- reveal all of her secrets? Let alone… say all those things about her? And Martha too, really? They truly were carbon copies.

She gripped at her red-hot tears with her eyelashes. On the bigger memo, what was Martha going to do, now that she knew? She would ship her away again, to another hospital, to another place- as if she were luggage.

Luggage that would never be free.

She ripped open her single suitcase- an emerald green one- and stuffed inside everything she could reach. Her clothes, her money, her photos, her valuables.

Finally letting her tears fall, she didn't even bother to mop them up as they ran down her pale cheeks and onto the single picture of Gina and her, arms linked, line running through it on the ground.


	3. Cloud Petals

A/N: Alright. Chapter three. Lol, I am so power-writing at the moment. But hey, I'm not so happy with this chapter. I hope it's adequate, because it's necessary for the plot. I tried fixing it up like fifty times but I only made it worse… so… if someone could point out parts that are unclear or rushed and I could redo it, that'd be great.

And, see, this story isn't about JUST Katie and Dia and blah blah. It's about everyone in the village. Sorry if 1 the story is too comical at parts (I can't help it, I'm parody writer) or 2 the entire storyline seems rushed, because I want to keep everything fast-paced. An author's job is not to tell the reader everything. And the more confused you are, the better ;)

Thanks to **Momo-chan12**, **The Scarlet Sky**, And Dildo Eggplant- er, **Cujos13th** for reviewing.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harvest Moon. And get ready for some graphic **murder**, kiddies!

Her Name In Blood

Jamie slung his hoe over his shoulder like a fishing rod, looking over his shoulder every few minutes as if someone were following him.

_No one's here. No one's here. No one but you… and Cal, too. Somewhere, _he tried to reassure himself. Quickening his pace, he tugged at the blade of hoe, which had begun digging into his back, and surveyed the landscape for his dog.

Nonetheless, he turned and peered behind him once more. His throat caught when he thought he saw a dark figure step towards him. He backed and squinted through the rain, which nearly flooded into his electric blue eyes, and realized it was merely a tree. Or a post, he really couldn't tell.

"Cal…" Jamie tried to yell, but his voice was drained and mixed with the lurching wind. He rubbed his rain poncho against his neck, panting as if he'd just run a thousand yards. His throat was cold and exposed, which made his breath feel spiky every time air rose to his mouth. He cleared his throat a few times in hopes of warming himself, but it only made him choke on his spit.

"Cal!" he said a little louder, but again, he could barely hear himself. Jamie pressed his numb hands to his sides and squinted again, wondering where he was standing after all the walking he'd done. If he had walked north from his house then that'd mean he'd already passed the clinic and sanatorium. If he were very far north he'd either end up in Moonlight Cave, the mountains, or Paradise Orchard.

He felt his knees buckle slightly and tripped on the cobblestone pavement, but immediately stepped forward and regained his balance. As much as he wanted to find his dog, he knew he wouldn't last in the storm. He would have to find a play to stay until it let up.

"I'll go to the Paradise Orchard, where Ronald, Dan, and Meryl will be," he decided, speaking aloud just to confirm he wasn't dead. He was too numb to feel cold anymore. "After all, the cave will be just as dark- and cold." The only thoughts that pushed him forward were his safety- and warmth: lots of it. As long as he had faith, faith would guide him.

But faith lied. Jamie pivoted without realizing, continuing to stumble towards what he thought to be the Paradise Orchard. Whenever he felt weak, he looked up at the sky, in hopes of seeing the moon, which would substitute as his flashlight- his guardian, his angel.

But the rain was always in the way.

**xoxo**

"Ray, come on! Ray! Ray!!"

A blue-haired girl tugged at his hand desperately, knowing she wouldn't actually be moving him but doing it anyway.

"Please, Ray!"

Ray, a rather tall, brown-haired man with a steady build, ignored her. His eyes were locked on the streaming river, and then on his wormed hook. He reeled his line in then cast it again, further this time.

"Ray! Stop ignoring me!" the girl screamed, tugging harder.

But his attention was undivided. Azure eyes steely on the now-blackened waves, he shook his wrist violently until the girl let go, making her stumble back and fall on her rear in the wet grass.

"We'll be caught in the middle of the storm!" the girl said, at her feet again. Mud strewn her face. "Ray, do you want to die?!"

Ray started to feel irritated. A vein throbbed near his left eye. He wanted to tell her to shut up, but instead he hunched his shoulders forward more and kept his eyes on the shallow part of his line. A few moments later he felt a hand strike him in the face- he'd just been slapped.

"Stop fishing!! Take me home!" she cried, stomping her foot. "I'll slap you again!"

That was it. He opened his mouth for the first time when he felt a strong tug on the line.

"I got one!" he commentated, rising the rod as high as he could in the air as he reeled the fish in, seeming to forget the fact that he'd just been slapped almost instantly.

"Ray! Stop!" The girl was now crying as she watched him struggle to retrieve the fish. "You're such a fish freak! It's all you think about, isn't it! You don't even have time for your girlfriend!"

The fish reared towards the right, pulling Ray forward a little. But he fought back, sidestepping and yanking at the rod with all his strength, like a hunter trying to shoot a bear with a harpoon.

"I hate you, Ray! Because of you I'm going to be caught in the storm now!" She pounded on his arm, but her fist bounced off like jelly. "We are so over! You're never going to the library again! Go get a life!"

It was almost there. He reeled the defeated fish in with solid strokes.

"…So don't count on me ever again! Go get a family, and a house, you hobo!"

With that, Ray stopped for the first time. His hands were still, and he let the fish swim away with his bait, hook, and half of the fishing line. Stoically turning to face the blue-haired girl, he set his fishing rod down on the muddy grass and took a step forward.

"W-what are you doing…" the girl started.

Ray's eyes burned into hers. Alas, he snapped forward, pouncing at her like a lion. They fell backward, with the girl screaming and clawing at him from beneath him.

"Freak! Get off of me! Get off!" she shrieked, trying to kick him. But it was to no avail; Ray sat defiantly on her legs. He held just her wrists and leaned forward until their noses touched.

"What? Are you trying to…" The girl felt woozy as Ray pressed his warm, rosy lips against hers, feeling safe for the first time since the storm began. He continued to kiss her sweetly and softly and then finally pulled away.

"Ray, why'd you sto-"

He interrupted her with a violent slap to her face, six times harder and louder than hers. The girl seemed more shocked than pained, but the expression on her face and the way her body tensed was enough to tell it _hurt._

Enjoying himself immensely, Ray continued to slap her, laughter bubbling up his throat when she started screaming and crying until her voice was scratchy. Then his laughter dissipated like sand in an hourglass, and he wrenched his hand towards her neck, clamping it and shaking it. The girl's feet soon rose above the air, trembling like she was having a spasm.

"Stop!" she croaked hazily. Her voice cracked with tears.

But Ray's eyes continued to melt into hers. They seemed to burn into her skin as he pressed against her once more.

Without another word, he turned around and stood above the raging waters, with his girlfriend dangling above it. His eyes looked from the waves to the girl and back, as if thinking.

"You wouldn't…" she said, but her plea sounded like a dare to him.

"Watch me," he whispered deviously. She screamed again, and it was all the fuel he needed. His lips bloomed into a secretive grin and his eyes narrowed down at the lake. Oblivious to her screaming and struggling, he released his grip on her neck, kicking her when she went low enough and sending her straight into the river. He watched as her mouth bubbled like foam as she was forced underwater, and then slashed at by the marine rocks.

He thought he heard her scream "WHY!" as she was carried by the current and again he felt the urge to laugh. He took his fishing rod and followed her body until it was far out of view and reach- but not far enough to be able to tell if she was alive or not. She'd ceased her struggling and basically moving at all.

Ray stared at her, content with the lifeless form he'd brought upon her. He bent down and cast out his fishing rod once again.

**xoxo**

Dia tried to sob as quietly as she could. Every time a cry of remorse rose to her throat, she held her sleeves to her nose and mouth and made a loud, terrible moan. Gina had asked her several times from the bottom landing if she were alright. She'd barely managed a "Yes". It was hard talking to the person responsible for it all.

"I'm going to bed, Dia," Gina called finally. "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Dia held back the urge to scream something vulgar. She took a deep breath, then, "'Night."

"Goodnight."

She listened to her footsteps as they died away, and then watched the lights flicker off. Deciding it wouldn't be best to leave while Gina was still awake, she went through all her things again and sorted through the bookcase twice. She sighed. There was never much she could do in that sanatorium…

But it would all change. Instinct pulsating through her body, she took her half-empty suitcase by the handle and dragged it as silently as she could down the stairs. When she reached the bottom, she felt more tears drip from her glassy green eyes and let out a slow, shaky sigh that made her body tremble.

No one would give her anymore medicine anymore. No more pills. No needles. After all, like, Gina and Martha both said… she wouldn't get better.

One hand on the door, she made sure she'd grasped the suitcase firmly. There was no returning. She didn't look back. With one more sturdy breath, she wrapped her fingers around the doorknob.

"Dia, what the hell?"

Dia nearly jumped out of her skin. _Alex_. When she felt his hand land softly on her shoulder, she did the first thing her body forced her to do- whirl around and punch him in the face. He was blasted back, clearly bewildered, and clutching his bloody nose in pain.

Dia gasped and opened her mouth to apologize when she looked down at her hand and felt- _blood_.

_Warm, fresh, sweet, blood… _

…_Stop! Stop, why are you thinking like that?!_

"G-get away from me!" Dia screamed, more tears rushing down her cheeks, the doctor's crestfallen face making her heart shrivel.

_It drips like juice… doesn't it look delicious? It flows like waves… isn't it pretty?_

…_No! That's disgusting! _

Alex stepped up to her, the look on his face making hers melt. "Dia, what's going…"

Dia hurled the closest thing in sight at him- which was an empty toilet paper roll sitting on the counter. She had to make it so he hated her. He couldn't go after her. If she was responsible for his death…

_Why do I feel this way? _She continued to pelt him with random objects, wet, wet, tears dancing on her cheeks. _What is this pain? _

Sick of it all, she cried out, something she wanted to do for so long. When Alex stepped towards her, she raked his face with her already blood-soaken fingers and pushed the door opened. Her suitcase nipped at her heels painfully as she ran, but she didn't care. She pushed through the rain- something she hadn't felt before. In all the books she read, rain seemed like it would feel like soft, dewy water droplets… like cloud petals, the book said.

But now… they felt like glass, pounding down at her face, her back, her stomach, everywhere.

She looked down at the remaining blood on her hand and held it up to the sky as far away from her face as she could, feeling the glass rain sweep it away; all her tears wasted as she ran from the life she never wanted.

**xoxo**

**AFTER-READ SPOILERS: **Yes, I've decided to mix the pairings up a bit. In this case, it's Alex x Dia. Kurt? Pffft, Kurt can suck my wiener.


	4. Panic Arisen

A/N: There. Chapter four. Lol, okay, so I'm pretty happy with how this latest instalment turned out. Again, tell me if it's too comical… like, I know this is a dark, tragic story about how shit happens but c'mon. What about funny shit? I'll be overjoyed if you review, so, hah, please do.

Big thanks to **RainbowMelody **and** Momo-chan12 **for reviewing again! Sorry, I didn't actually give anyone much time to review, I know, I know… but this writing spurt has to lead me somewhere, right? It'll end before I know it.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Mild language.

Enjoy.

Her Name In Blood

Jamie panted heavily as he tumbled and fell onto the dirt path that led to a wide building, its shape and property he couldn't pronounce. Whose house he'd arrived at, he didn't know. As long as it wasn't Jack's, he really didn't care either. His knees wobbled as he tried to stand up, but it wouldn't work. He was just too cold. He collapsed again, shaking like a dog when another flurry of wind came his way.

"I can do it… I can do it…" he muttered to himself, crawling to the entrance like a worm. His pride was the last thing he cared about at the moment- but he couldn't help but be relieved he was the only one outside.

Or so he thought.

"Yes…" he croaked when his fingers stretched out and touched the flat wood of the door. He hobbled to his knees, summing up all the strength he had. Then he knocked, hard and long.

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.**

He never ceased knocking. If he stopped, it would all end… he felt his conscience slip away from underneath him, then pull back quickly.

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.**

A chill arrow shot through his body. He could nearly feel the bones creaking in his twisted spine and cried out, falling against the door. He held himself up, however, pushing against either sides of the threshold with his splintered palms. Then he started knocking again, and his eyes grew wide and frantic. What if nobody was home?

No. He wouldn't give up. If he had to… he'd break in.

"I can do it…" he whispered again, his head pounding as hard as his fist, which relented beating itself against the door.

_That is… if I have the strength to break in… _He'd already lost his voice in the pit at the end of his throat. He felt like the storm was… devouring him.

Jamie was just about to let himself pass out in defeat when he heard feet thundering toward him.

"I'M COMING, I'M COMING!" an old, grumpy man's voice bellowed from the other side. "WHO THE HELL-?"

The door swung open. Jamie managed to catch a glimpse of the short man. White balding hair and beady black eyes was all he caught before his mind sank into oblivion, falling face down on the hardwood boards.

**xoxo**

Jamie awoke languidly. His head still pounded, his body still ached, and he still felt like shit that had just been dumped out of a compost. He hated how weak he felt- but he was glad to be alive. He just wasn't ready to die yet.

_I can't believe I'm alive… _he thought again. He smiled, his eyes still closed firmly, like curtains drawn over blue windows. He wanted to hark in rejoice, but he felt he didn't have that kind of strength yet.

Shifting slightly orient himself, he realized he didn't feel much better than from when he arrived at the house. He probably hadn't had much sleep.

_Oh yeah! Whose house am I in?_ Jamie shuffled and was just about to pry open his eyes when he heard a voice.

"Go for the light, Jamie. C'mon, go for it!"

Jamie's brows furrowed. That voice was all too familiar. And he didn't like the sound of it.

"Go on! Grab it!" he relented excitedly.

"…Shut up, Jack."

Eyes opened, he smirked at the look of surprise that had unfurled on the opposing farmer's face. He rolled over on his back and scanned the room until his eyes fell back upon the figure sitting down in front of him.

Jack sat smack-dab in the middle of the floor, in wet overalls and just socks- which he figured were just as wet.

"What are you doing here?" Jamie asked, too tired to sound angry, which made him angry that he couldn't sound angry.

"Same thing I'd like to ask you," Jack said, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "You collapsed right when Saibara opened the door, you know."

Jamie ignored him. "Where is Saibara?"

"In the other room, getting food."

_Food_. It sounded so distant to Jamie, like an old friend he hadn't seen for years. _Food_… it was sounding pretty good right now. The very thought of grilled hot dogs, garnished lobster and blueberry cheesecake a la mode wafted into his mind.

As if on cue, Saibara stepped out, nodding at Jack, then at Jamie. He set two trays down- one in front of each guy. He bent down to lift the lids to each tray, Jamie trying to resist staring at it with bug-eyes. He awaited the steamy, juicy goodness, the tangy and fresh aroma that would spike his nostrils… it made him lean forward.

Then the lid was wisped away, and he was _scared _at what he saw.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted out loud without meaning to. He was torn between throwing up on the spot and excusing himself politely. His eyes snapped towards Jack, who'd burst out laughing. He'd been watching Jamie the entire time it appeared.

"Loser! Enjoy your pudding!" he said, in between laughs.

"Pudding?" Jamie repeated.

Saibara nodded, seeming unfazed as he took a healthy swig of something out of a handcrafted clay bowl coloured like _you-know._

"Racoon liver. Only the freshest."

**xoxo**

Alex ripped through the halls at top speed, ramming into walls and stumbling every few seconds. His injured shoulder clashed against the railing once, and after wincing and cursing he continued his sprint through the narrow building, immune to the storm hovering over him outside like a giant leaf.

He didn't care about the unbelievable pain that had exploded in his shoulder. He didn't care. Because he felt greater pain; much, much greater pain- the pain in his heart.

"GINA!! MARTHA!!" he shouted, so loudly his throat throbbed. "GET OUT HERE, _NOW_!!!"

Like soldiers, they piled up and stood side-by-side parallel from him and still clad in their pajamas. Martha looked pissed off for being awaken, and Gina looked pissed off for having to be beside Martha.

"What's the matter?" Gina asked.

"THE MATTER?" Alex thundered, scaring Gina. He sounded much louder in person. "DIA RAN AWAY!"

The girls ogled at him.

"What?" they both said in unison.

"She fucking ran away, that's what!" Alex's voice had tuned down from furious to hopeless, his tone fading with each syllable. "I don't know why… she… but she did."

"…Oh, Alex," Gina fumbled, as if he were a foolish little boy. It was all she could say.

"I know what I saw!" Alex fired up, defensive.

Gina ignored him, and for the first time since she moved in she didn't rival for his affection. She took long, heavy strides down the hall and pivoted up the stairs with the two doctors at her heels, climbing two at a time. She came to a halt before Dia's bed- it was empty.

"See?" Alex said coldly.

Anger bubbled in Gina's abdomen for a split second, but she quickly soothed it. "Oh c'mon, she's still around here. Hey, Dia?" She tried to make her voice sound as convincing and calm as she felt- which was frantic and panicking. She walked up behind the green curtains dividing the vast room, hoping it didn't look like she was running. She peered around. No Dia.

"Dia?" she said again, her voice less confident. She dropped to her knees and peered under the bed, then stood up and glanced under the tablecloth to her left. She hurried past Alex and Martha and looked there too. Finally, she broke down.

"DIA!!" she hollered, running from each side of the room helplessly. _Not my friend… not my best friend… _Magma tears downed from her eyes as she ripped through the covers and books in the bookcase. She felt Martha grip her tightly and fell into her embrace, sobbing into her shoulder.

"She really is gone," she whispered into the soft fabric. Taking deep breaths, she looked at Alex, who eyed the ground darkly, as if a stranger to the entire scene. "Do you know… why? Will she ever come back?"

Alex gave her a lopsided look, making both women gasp as they saw the bloody scars that stretched over his face for the first time. It only took a few moments, when their eyes redirected from his wounds, to realize he too was crying softly.

"I don't know, Gina. I don't know," he replied hoarsely, shaking his head from side to side.

Because he really, truly didn't.

**xoxo**

Blue took off his hat and scanned it for no reason at all. He put it back on his head, which was already dry.

He'd given up on saying "Bob, I'm boooored" when his throat began to ache. Instead, he'd reverted to pacing. He'd done it for the last few hours. At least, that was what it felt like.

"Aren't you even bored?" he couldn't help but blurt out when he looked at Bob, who was sitting in the same position since they'd arrived at the shed.

Bob shrugged. "Nah, it's relaxing listening to the rain, anyway."

"Rain?"

Immense thunder exploded in the sky again, making a dome-like veil over the village through the window.

"Some rain," Blue said, regaining his edge and rolling his eyes.

"Hey…" Bob began, glancing over his shoulder. "I think I see someone outside."

"What? Who?"

Blue awoke from his insanity.

"I don't know…" Bob squinted as he stood up for the first time to look out the window, moving so slowly Blue thought he could hear his bones creaking.

"Oh my Goddess, I think I know who it is!" Bob exclaimed.

"What? Who?" Blue repeated, exasperated. He hopped up onto a crate next to him and shoved his face against it.

"I think…" Bob's eyes squinted to see the figure clearly. "I think it's Ray."

**xoxo**

Eve sat, waiting, at the foot of her bed, trying to level her rising heartbeat by taking deep breaths. The panic that arose in her throat wasn't exactly comfortable, and as much as she _loathed _what was about to happen- she wished he would hurry up and get it over with.

Eve took another breath, her skinny arms wrapping themselves around her stomach protectively. Maybe she'd get lucky… maybe he wouldn't come…

But what did lucky mean? If he didn't show up, she'd spend the whole night waiting for him anyway. And if it didn't happen tonight, it would happen tomorrow night. Eve thrummed her fingers against her thigh, which too was thin and almost a little scrawny.

Her stomach rumbled aggressively and she felt tears sting her eyes.

_Why… what did I do to deserve this?_

Nothing had happened, the room was still, and Eve was alone- but she already felt the pain. She feared what was about to happen… she feared it all… and she couldn't escape fate…

The door lurched open, and Eve wanted to cry as her uncle Duke, about sixty, trudged in, tracking mud. Once he was inside the room he slammed the door shut, turning to face her.

"Sales have been going down," he said gravely. "I think I need to get my anger out. But how?"

He was playing with her. She knew it.

"M-maybe you want to talk about it…" Eve offered meekly, but that only earned laughter from the massive man.

"Stupid girl! Words won't comfort me!" he shouted, laughter ceasing immediately. He took a step towards her; she took two back. "You can't get away from me…" he hissed, pinning her against the wall and jamming a fist into her side.

Eve pressed against the hard side, grimacing deeply in pain, especially when he started pummelling her repeatedly in the stomach. She groaned when she couldn't handle it anymore.

"Need a rest?" he asked steely.

"P-please…" Eve whimpered, but that only made Duke start beating her harder. He kicked at her knees until she stumbled and fell on top of him, just to be shoved back and rammed.

"W-why…" Eve whispered. "Why can't I just work to pay off the debt… why this…"

This made Duke laugh. "DEBT?" he repeated, roaring with hilarity. "My girl, this is more than a simple debt! Money won't buy your way out of everything!"

Eve opened her mouth to scream back, but instead cried out as Duke forced a knee into her. Tears spilled out of her eyes and her mouth twisted open, looking like a doll; frozen.

Duke waited for a while, staring at her like she were a television screen; he was so amused.

"I think that's enough for tonight," he finally said, as if discussing financial matters. "I think… all my anger is gone. Thank you for helping me get it out."

Saliva bled from her lips as she clutched her stomach, watching him nearly lifeless as he exited the room, still grinning psychotically.

Eve said nothing. She hobbled over and crashed on the bed, feeling abused and energy-drained. She tried to treat her wounds limply for a while before giving up and breaking down on the floor, hard sobs racking her frail body.

A man in his early twenties coincidentally walked by her room. The second he passed on the other side of the threshold, he reared back jokingly. But when he saw her crying, his face fell.

"What's wrong, Eve?" he asked, still in the doorway.

"Carl…" Eve wept. "Go away."

But he stayed put, already respecting her enough by remaining outside her room. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"No… now leave."

Again, he didn't move a muscle.

"Want a hug?" he finally asked.

Eve shrugged, so he went inside and gave her a firm, tight hug before pulling away and sweeping a blonde lock behind her ear.

"If you ever have anything you want to talk about, come to me, okay?" he said.

Eve bit her lip and nodded as he left and felt like crying all over again.

Two seasons ago, she had moved into Moonlight Café with her Uncle, her second last living relative. She had nowhere else to go- no way to make money. Her former family had been too poor to be able to send her to school. Her former family… was dead.

At first, she was just foolish. She thought Uncle Duke would have let her stay in his house, eat his food, and be clothed by him for…free. But, no. Free was the farthest thing from what she was. Every week, he went into her room. Every week, she repaid her "debt" by letting him pound his frustration out on her. Duke was a rich man… why couldn't he offer her the least hospitality? He hurt her more than he was helping her.

Then… she met Carl. The cute man who worked counter in evenings and flirted and joked with everyone. She shook her head. What a sweet, innocent guy. A blush unfurled on her already-rosy cheeks. Sometimes, she had to admit, his sweetness got the better of her, and she had… a crush on him.

And she believed, because it was true, that Carl was the only light in the darkness her uncle had shrouded her with. But sometimes, it was her crush on him that made her feel even worse, that wanting for him to be with her. She fought with the guilt in her chest that said she'd rather have a guy that treated her like a girlfriend instead of a guy that treated her like a sister.

It troubled her, sometimes, wondering what Carl was to her. Because he did mean a lot to her.

Her breath caught when Duke appeared in the doorway again, wondering if he was back for… more. Instead, he stopped and smiled at her, showing all his teeth. He waved casually to her, as if he hadn't just beaten and abused her.

"Have a good night," he chortled, and then stalked away guffawing.

Eve curled into the smallest ball her slender body could make. Duke made everything hell.


	5. Flower Bud Village

A/N: Chapter five! Okay, so I'm happy with some parts in this chapter, unhappy with others. Again, if you think some parts are rushed or anything, just tell me. This one is the most tragic one so far, probably, aside from chapter one, soo… don't expect a good laugh.

Thanks **klutz586** for reviewing! And yes, I know who you are :) (Lol! That sounds so stalkerish.)

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Get ready for more DEATHS!

Her Name In Blood

Dia wasn't used to the darkness. She read about how, at night, all the stars and the moon were supposed to be out, smiling down at her. She read that the moon was as beautiful as the sun. Magical, even. But when she looked up… nothing was there. All she saw was rain… gust… havoc…

Thunder flashed and Dia breathed in hard. Somehow, it didn't scare her when she was in the sanatorium. It was as if the heavy white walls she was caged in protected her.

_And trapped me_, Dia thought through gritted teeth. She turned back for the first time and immediately regretted it, expecting to see the tall, lone building standing not too far away.

But all she saw… was darkness.

Dia stumbled back. Had she really ran that far? Was it really gone? The passion that had built up inside her crushed instantly and she started crying. Thunder clasped louder above her and she even let out a scream.

"It won't hurt me… it won't hurt me…" she said to herself.

"_Just because it won't harm you, it doesn't give you any reason not to be scared…" _

Dia swallowed, not completely digesting his words- but the sight of Doctor Alex's face. The last time she saw it, it was scarred, wounded, bloodied, twisted, pale- all because of her.

_Blood. _

"No!" Dia gasped. Why did she keep thinking of blood…? She was _terrified _of blood. She remembered, every time Alex had to extract blood from her with a needle, she'd run and avoid it. The sloshy red liquid… that spilled from bodies… the sight of blood was murderous to her.

_Murder. _

"Stop…" she pleaded. She was blasted back by a blast of wind, her head snapping back and hitting against something _hard_.

Knees buckling beneath her, a trickle of deep, crimson blood flowed from each slit that had made its way into her skin as her body lay cold and numb in the middle of the road.

**xoxo**

_Pain._

Meryl, the dark-haired eight-year-old girl, stood stone still on the tall wooden chair nearly double her length. Her tiny arms twisted in knots as she tied a loop in a rope she had hung from the ceiling, which she reached by jumping up at it- and then falling and hitting her head. But that was the least of her worries right now.

_Suffering._

She rolled up her sleeves, revealing red, shallow slashes on either of her wrists. She'd run out of room long ago, and even went for her forearms and legs.

_Panic._

And no one wondered why she wore long sleeves, long pants, through Winter and Summer… four seasons, she wore them, and no one even noticed…no one cared…

She ran her finger along all the scars of the wounds that had healed, piercing the light red barriers and opening them again. Blood wiggled out of her skin and ran lightly down her body, like a drizzle of rain. And speaking of rain…

Her dark, hollow eyes reverted to the window to her left. _What a terrible storm…I bet it'll bring everyone…_

She searched for the proper word to use.

_Melancholy…_

She blinked and looked back up on the rope hanging nine inches from the tip of her nose. Without second thought she reached out and grabbed it, nearly making the chair she stood on tip.

_Agony…_

"This world wasn't made for a girl like me…" she murmured, eyes still locked on the rope. "It was made for people who could go out there and live the world. I am stuck here, I don't know what to do, and nobody knows me… I will never live the world."

_Tragedy… _

She brought the loop and stuck her face through it, her breath still even as she looked down at the ground six feet below her. She was merely a petite 3', so when she let go, there would be another 3' beneath her…

_Ignorance…_

"People truly are ignorant…" she ventured. "They don't even know… they don't even know that-"

Her feet slipped and the chair was kicked backward. The only support she had was the rope- tied around her neck.

She choked and gagged, spit dribbling down her chin and falling six feet onto the floor, echoing in the empty room.

"They do…n't…. even… kn-know…" She could barely finish. Her face purpled. Just a few more seconds, and she'd be gone from the world. No more tattered memories stowed at the back of her head like forgotten rags. No more… no more. "Kn-know…" She tried to cough, but her throat prevented it. "That th-this is all…. Their…"

She inhaled and felt her throat snap, as her small figure stilled, dangling from the rope like a Christmas ornament.

_Fault. _

**xoxo**

Jamie sat still and felt like gagging as his nostrils erupted with the scent of the "racoon liver" placed in front of him.

"I'm not drinking this… foul thing…" he practically stuttered. "You are disgusting…"

Nobody said anything; Jack and Jamie just stared down at their food.

"Oh, I'm just playin' with ya!" Saibara yowled finally through the disturbing silence, howling with laughter. "That ain't racoon liver!"

Jamie calmed down a bit, but he was still ticked. "Then what the hell is it, old man?"

Again, he didn't even seem offended. "It's Yamame soup. Try it, it's good for your bones."

"Yamame, eh?" Jamie looked down at it. "Are you sure it's…" He looked up at Jack, who had begun digging into it wholeheartedly.

"Hey, it's good!" he said, looking at Saibara, then smirking at Jamie again before resuming to drink his fish soup.

"Well, if it's Yamame…" Jamie sighed. He didn't have the energy to eat any solid food, it seemed, and his body was already weakening. "Why aren't you eating it?" he asked Saibara, but he didn't reply right away.

"Ye can't eat soup, stupid! Ye drink it!" His legs wiggled up and down as he sat on a purple leather pillow, guffawing madly.

Jamie rolled his eyes and stared down at the soup. It was brown and kind of murky… "Are there bones inside?"

"Oh, just shut up and drink it!" Jack snapped, only half-sarcastically.

Jamie leered at him and brought the bowl to his lips, slurping it. "…Hey, it is kinda good..." he muttered after a while.

"Exactly. So drink it," Saibara urged him, and he could've sworn he saw a smirk sneak rise to his lips.

Jamie nodded lightly at him before pressing his lips back to the bowl when he heard something collapse.

He looked up and saw Jack, a petrified look on his face, eyes descending as he smashed to the floor, right onto the clay shards of the bowl.

**xoxo**

Alex tugged on a heavy black coat over his white one, throwing on the hood as he stampeded for the door.

"Alex! What are you doing?" Martha said shrilly, flourishing after him.

"I'm going after Dia, what else?" he said coldly.

Gina saw the glint in his eye and her heart sank. Did she see… something else? Past the pain in his eyes? They were black and fiery, and passionate and… longing. Did he…?

"I'm going after Dia too."

All eyes directed to Gina, who was only half-conscious as she said those words. But she didn't go back on her word, taking a thick black coat from the hanger and tossing it over her shoulders.

"Oh no you two aren't!" Martha cried. "You'll die out there!"

"Dia's not here! What's the point?" Gina hissed at the elderly woman. "Goddess, you can be so selfish sometimes!"

Alex turned to her darkly. "Gina, there is no need to insult Martha. She just cares."

Gina was awestruck. "But you just said…!"

"She's concerned about our safety. She's allowed to do that."

Gina gaped angrily at Alex, then at Martha. She saw Martha cock her mouth open to speak in the corner of her eye but cut through her mid-sentence.

She turned and ran out of the sanatorium, away from Martha's screams and away from Alex, who looked heartbroken. But not for her.

She pushed away the jealousy and darkness in her heart as she sprinted blindly through the rain, strong emotions she'd never felt before pulsing through her.

"Gina, wait!"

Gina opened her mouth to say shut up when she felt a hand grip her elbow. She turned and saw Alex, panting and rain-streaked on his snowy white face.

"Wait for me," he said, smiling weakly.

Gina's spirits sank and rose all at once.

"I will," she whispered, and for a moment she saw passion flicker in his eyes- for her.

**xoxo**

Eve wiped her mouth quickly with her sleeve. She, Duke, and Carl sat around the counter that substituted for a dinner table. They all ate their dinner and chewed loudly.

"This is really good, Duke," Carl commented.

Eve smiled up at his kindness, but then her face fell. If only Carl knew… Duke didn't deserve those compliments at all.

"Obviously," Duke muttered ungratefully in reply. His ego had gotten the better of him. Now compliments were just words he expected to receive daily. It sickened Eve.

There was a silence, one she did not attempt to fill. As she expected, Carl spoke with ease.

"What a bad storm," he piped up, digging at his mashed potatoes with a fork. "I hope no one's caught up in it."

"Yeah, and what dumbass would go outside in that weather?" Duke scoffed, making Eve twitch with annoyance. She numbed when he spoke to her. "Something _wrong_, Eve?"

He was using that voice. The voice that he used, whenever he implied… it…

"Nothing's wrong Duke, the food is delicious thank you," she said all in one breath, taking a bite of her chicken and trying not to let her body quiver.

"You're welcome," Duke replied with sickly sweet fabrication dripping from his voice.

Carl looked between the two, confused. He finished the last of his potatoes and didn't ease the silence this time. Instead, he stood up once his plate was cleared.

"I'll wash the dishes tonight," he offered good-heartedly.

"Go ahead," Duke gruffed, earning an invisible glare from Eve.

"That's very kind of you, Carl," she said instead, flashing him a quick smile.

Carl smiled back at her warmly, and again she got the big brother vibe from him, sinking. He collected the empty plates and walked off to the kitchen carefully, Eve's eyes trailing after him.

"Don't tell me…" Duke said loudly, making herjump.

"W-what?" Eve stammered.

"You like him!" Duke's eyes magnetized in realization. "YOU LIKE CARL!"

"No!" Eve breathed before she could stop herself. She wished he wouldn't speak so loudly…

"I know you do! You like him!" Duke jumped up and started roaring with laughter. "What a joke! A beautiful belle and that loser!"

Eve was offended that he spoke of him like that. "He's not a loser, you fat oaf!" she screamed before she could stop herself.

"Fat?" he repeated, looking down at his bulging belly then back at her. "_Fat_?"

"I-I-" There was no use keeping anything bottled up. "THAT'S RIGHT, ASSHOLE!" she shrieked, eyes flaring.

"What's going-"

Duke slapped her. She whipped back, off her chair, head smashing against the floor like a hand to a drum.

If only Carl hadn't walked in right before, eyes wide at what her uncle had just done.

"No…" Eve pleaded from the ground as Duke stood up to "wipe his memory." "Not Carl…"

She heard the sounds of fists flying and Carl moaning and cried out.

"He doesn't deserve this!" she sobbed loudly, and that only made Duke kick a chair at her.

**xoxo**

Martha pounded her fist against the wall, aggravated and alone. How could they leave her like that? After all she'd done for them? She was an old woman, almost topping seventy- but that didn't mean she was a devoid of emotion. She had feelings too. And the two people she cared about most, they pierced them. They pierced her feelings like daggers to skin. They abandoned her, whether they realized it or not.

She moped up the stairs, too sorrowful and hurt to be angry. She wanted to go after them, she really did… but not only was she afraid, but weak. Her old, frail body wouldn't be able to take the storm…

But would Dia's?

Martha double-checked the vast second floor out of curiosity. Dia was also another important vein to her life. Martha took care of her, and gave her advice, and told her stories… she was like a daughter to her.

After a thorough examination, she'd come to the conclusion that the girl really was gone. The beds were empty, all her things were gone; not even her emerald suitcase was there anymore. But where would she go? Would she really… die?

"_Dia's not here! What's the point? Goddess, you can be so selfish sometimes!"_

Gina's words echoed in her mind again and again. She _was _selfish… and it hurt to admit it, but she was. But like Alex said, she was worried too.

She sat down on Dia's abandoned bed, already able to picture her lying there beside her. Everything felt surreal. She could barely believe that Alex, Gina, and Die were gone. She could barely believe it, even after watching with her very own eyes…

She knew it would sink in later. And when it did, it would hurt.

She saw something rolled up on the ground and bent down and unfurled it. Wiping away the tears that had popped out of her eyes, she analyzed it and realized it was a newspaper. Lowering her glasses and squinting, she held it against the light to see the small Times New Roman words.

""_CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6._

""_After much investigation, researchers have discovered tracks leading away from the scene of the crime. They followed it, as they were still fresh, leading all the way to a secluded village far to the south. The small town had recently been undergoing much rainfall, as the tracks had disappeared once it approached the gate. _

""_It is quite odd, however, seeing as the stormy weather only continues above the village and nowhere else. Inquirers have flocked to it but it seems that just hours ago, lightning appeared around the perimeter of the storm and zapped anyone and everyone approaching it. It seems that no one can get in; no one can get out. _

""_Professional investigators have been sent to search the grounds (but not too close) for any sightings of the criminal's body, and are yet to report back. _

""_Until further notice, it is vital that all travelers stay away from" _

Martha's mouth twisted open as three words glared up at her, harmonious with ink.

_Flower Bud Village._

She dropped the paper to the ground.

**xoxo**

"Quick, open the door!" Blue exclaimed, already wrenching at the doorknob.

"No!" Bob hissed, making Blue snap back abruptly.

"What? We're just gonna leave him out there in the storm?" Blue exclaimed. "That's practically murdering him!"

"Blue, shut up. Something isn't right."

"What?"

"Look. He's holding something."

Blue squinted to look out the window from where he was standing as Ray drew nearer.

"It looks like… a guy," Blue said, in awe. "Tucked under his arm. What the hell?"

"It's Terry," Bob confirmed, nodding. His voice tightened. "Unconscious. And look what's slung over Ray's shoulder."

Blue stepped forward cautiously. "A fishing rod?"

"Beside the fishing rod."

Blue walked up and pressed his eyes against the window; the mist was so dense. His mouth fell open and he stumbled back when he clearly came into view, knocking a milker off the wall.

"A gun."


	6. Separation

A/N: Chapter six. My heart is still pounding as I write these notes. This is without a doubt, the most eventful, shit-happens-y, action packed, heartracing chapter in the fucking story. If this doesn't satisfy you, then… kill me. Lol.

Thank you SO MUCH **The Scarlet Sky **and **kisa-chan-2006 **for reviewing! You have no clue how much it means to me! …Then again you do, because you've felt the same way before, lol. But I'm serious. I love you guys. Hah.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Mass violence and mild language. More death, as presumed.

Bon appetite. Did I spell that right? LOL, pun! (…)

Her Name In Blood

"Where are we going?" Gina croaked as she struggled to keep up with the doctor. "Where are we going, Alex?"

Alex fast-walked a few feet ahead of her, fighting against the wind. He didn't even bother to turn to face her.

"I don't know, now stop asking me!" he snapped, his temper short.

Gina bit back tears, but obliged, shrinking back. She hated the side of Alex she was seeing. She hated how vile he was acting… but could he help himself? No, he couldn't. Not when his love, his _true _love, was out there in the darkness, half-dead and alone.

Out there in the darkness. Half-dead. Alone. In many ways, Gina currently felt like this as well.

She wiped the layer of water- rainwater _and_ tear-water off her cheeks with her sleeve, only to have it replaced a second later. It was hopeless. She looked up at the shrouded sky, deciding to… think. Thinking was probably the one thing she was good at. Because it was the only place- her mind- where she could find the best out of things with imagination. Imagination, because it wasn't real.

_The way I'm walking against the flow of nature, it's like I'm being suspended by the wind…_ She opened her mouth to share her thoughts with Alex when she realized- he wouldn't care.

Dia was gone, Gina'd walked out on Martha, and Alex was definitely not interested. She had no one left. No one to care about her.

Prickling with tears, her eyes darted back and forth, trying to orient themselves- but instead, familiarizing her surroundings. She squinted to see more clearly as the rain fogged up her lenses, but upon closer inspection, she had an answer. Direction never felt so good.

"I think I know where we are."

For once he responded with ease. "Where?" Alex whipped around, making her jump at his sudden movement. The entire time he'd been cold, stiff, and distant. It was as if the storm was summoning the fury and hate harnessed inside everyone just to have it lashed out on everyone else.

"The beach," Gina replied, shrinking again.

Alex's face softened, but just barely.

"Alright then, let's search the coastline. You head for the pier, I'll head for the rocky part."

Gina's face fell. "You mean… we're separating?" Her gut anticipated the emotions that already dawned on her- lost and scared. Alone.

"Don't worry, we're still in basically the same area," Alex mumbled, already having a kickstart to his post.

"Wait!" Gina cried out before she could stop herself. Why would he just leave her like that?

Alex turned to face her. "What?"

_What? _Gina pictured herself running up to him, whispering her last words to him, telling him she loved him, planting a kiss on his lips… for some reason, she felt like they were parting- forever.

"I…" Gina began, but Alex just pivoted. "A-Alex?"

"I don't have time for this," he flourished, taking long strides away from her. "Go look for Dia."

Her heart shattered. So it was about Dia now, wasn't it? Yes, it was all about Dia. Dia, who had landed in his pool of affection with ease, while Gina had worked her way up the ladder to get there. Dia, who had a love even after she ditched them, punched them; left them. What was the point in trying to get Alex to like her? The one in his heart… it was obvious. And it wasn't her.

She turned and ran forward, not knowing where forward was. All she knew was forward was in the opposing direction of the beach- Alex wouldn't miss her. Tears streaked down her face and she swallowed hard, looking down so the rain wouldn't hit her face.

Taking a wrong turn, her heel caught on a protruding root and she sprawled down on the ground. Pain shot up her ankle- she could nearly feel it in her wrists. As she stood up shakily, a forced volley of wind came her way and knocked off her large, round glasses.

"No!" she cried, her arm outstretched. She scrambled to her feet, limping and bending here and there and groping the ground frantically. She felt more hopeless and blind as ever- until she took a step forward, and _crunch_.

"Fuck."

She was on her own now.

**xoxo**

Jamie stood up, letting his hot soup spill all over the ground. He ran over to his rival and grabbed his wrist, listening for a pulse. To his relief, he was still alive.

But that wasn't enough. He turned to Saibara, glowering.

"Bastard! You poisoned him!" he barked, towering over the short old man like a bear. He faltered for a moment. Damn being powerless. "Don't even try to sneak your way out of this…!"

"Sneak?" Saibara smiled thinly, not even backing up as Jamie hovered four inches from his chest. "There will be no need for sneaking. But, maybe, for running."

Jamie faltered, overcome by confusion. "Waiiit… wha'?" he fumbled. "I don't get it."

Saibara's smile fell. "It means you'd better get out of my way before I carve your fucking lungs out, asshole."

A long, thick-bladed axe snaked down from behind his back, its handle sliding perfectly down his arm and halting in his closed palm. The wrinkles on his face seemed to stretch as he began laughing madly, making a malicious midair swing.

Jamie leapt back, pulling Jack with him. He landed on his rear, Jack sprawled on the ground to the side.

"No!" he cried as Saibara stepped over him, his axe raised dangerously above his head. The trepidation on his face he had never shown before. He'd never _felt _this kind of fear before.

_I'm not ready to die! _

Saibara brought the axe down just as Jamie rolled instinctively to his left. The axe landed between his legs, a pinky away from his crotch.

"No!" he screamed again, feeling like he was losing it. Tears caught in his eyes and his throat closed. He'd never been so afraid. Death… it terrified him more than anything…

"Crying now, eh?" Saibara said, grinning. "Well, it'll all be over soon." He kicked him hard in the joystick, making it crunch painfully.

Jamie doubled over in pain, clutching between his legs as it seared with pain.

"Got ye now!" He laughed again, long and loud, and was just to charge his lethal blade against the defenceless boy's gut when-

Cal and Kat burst through the door, panting playfully.

"What the…?" Jamie gaped at them, as if completely forgetting he was standing under an attacking axeman. "Cal!"

Saibara stared bug-eyed at them. "What the hell? How'd they open my door?"

Cal just barked and ran up to Jamie joyously on his four legs, followed by Kat who raced up and licked his face. Cal barked happily and then shook, water splattering Saibara's legs and Jamie's chest.

"Where were you?" Jamie cooed, as if expecting a reply. He ruffled Cal's fur, relieved his dog was alright. Kat sat jealously on Jamie's legs, then jumped up and resumed licking his face, desperate for attention.

Saibara was the only one not amused. "What the hell?" he shouted.

The dogs got onto the ground and started barking madly at him, making Saibara back up. Jamie watched, eyes wide- it was unbelievable. Was he… scared of dogs?

"Vermins! Begone!" Saibara threateningly stepped forward, but that only made Kat jump up and bite him in the leg. "Yow!"

Cal began barking madly and supportively from the sidelines, Jamie still awestruck- until he saw the look on Saibara's face.

"You've messed with the wrong guy…" His face darkened and he punched Kat in the jaw, making her tumble toward the ground. Jamie's mouth stretched open as Saibara raised his axe at the small animal.

"You wouldn't!" he cried. "Stop!"

It was all happening so fast, so quickly- his mind raced, and he envisioned already Saibara stabbing at the poor Golden Retriever. He felt his body pull forward on reflex, and his fist felt just millimetres away from Saibara's face, when in reality his arm was outstretched at the heart stopping scene- but all movement ceased when he heard a sickening crunch.

Saibara rammed the axe down, and the only noise was blood spurting out of Kat's snapped neck like a seismic sea wave. A pool formed instantly where Saibara, which he swivelled his socked foot into with ease.

"How do you like that, doggy?" he snarled, stomping on its lifeless head and shattering every bone in its skull. "That's it. Die."

Jamie's eyes widened at the sight of the dead, gory animal. His eyes locked furiously onto Saibara.

No. No one deserved to die like that. Not even an animal. He pressed onto his knee and took two solid steps toward him.

"Back off, I have an axe!" Saibara waved it in the air like a glowstick, but that only made Jamie angrier. "Oooh, mad now, eh? Oh yeah? Look at this!" He kicked at Kat's leftover body, making it roll over to Jamie. "Want that to happen to you?"

Jamie breathed raggedly, so raggedly it felt like a growl. His body tensed, all lack of energy faded, and he felt an aura of rage rejuvenate his body like magic potion. He charged at Saibara, who swung his axe at him.

Jamie's palm raised and grabbed the axe by its blade, blood caking the freshest wound on his open skin. He ignored the pain, he ignored the blood- all he could think of was his anger.

He yanked the axe out of Saibara's hand by its blade with such force Saibara tumbled forward. Jamie uplifted a knee, smashing it against the old man's face and, before impact could even have its effect, his foot cascaded and guillotined against the back of the clay-maker's neck.

"This is what it's like to die…"

Jamie grunted so loudly it felt like a low scream, clobbering the axe downward like lightning.

**xoxo**

Eve pressed hard against the wall, afraid to open her eyes. She didn't want to look at the destructive scene that had just taken place. She didn't want to look at what Duke had done to Carl.

Carl… poor Carl… why did he fight back?

"Eve, open your eyes. Look at me."

She shrank back in alarm, relieved and terrified of the sound of Carl's voice. She wanted to open her eyes, she wanted to embrace him; she wanted to look at his face to make sure he was okay.

But she was afraid.

"Come on, Eve… look at me…"

She felt a hand prop up her chin, and she assumed she was facing Carl. Trembling, she pushed his hand away gently.

"I can't do it… please don't make me open my eyes…" Eve voice cracked, feeling more remorse for Carl than she did herself.

"Alright… you don't have to open your eyes. I'll just talk to you like this, and feel like I'm conversing with a painting."

Eve almost smiled. There was Carl, making a joke out of… everything.

"Are you okay?" she whispered. Her hand edged forward and she felt Carl take it in his warm one, rubbing the back of her fingers like velvet.

"Why don't you open your eyes and check?" he asked softly.

Eve bit her lip. "Carl, I'm scared to," she wasn't even reluctant to admit.

"Eve, don't be afraid. This is reality."

"I hate reality."

"Don't say that."

"I just did."

"Eve, please open your eyes."

Eve didn't know why, but she did. As soon as they opened, she saw Carl's face, ornamented with purple and black bruises. Blood trickled down his nose and puddled around his lips like he'd just- very messily- eaten a basketful of wildberries. One eye was forced shut and swelling, and there was a long slash that took up the entire volume of his forehead.

"Oh, Goddess…" Eve moaned, and she snapped her head in the other direction, hating to see Carl like that. And it was all her fault, too.

"No, Eve. Look at me." Carl spoke firmly and seriously. "I want you to see me at my weakest."

"Why…?" Eve asked softly through sniffling. "Why in the world would you want that?"

"Because I've seen you at yours, and it only seems fair."

Eve gasped and looked him in the eye on reflex, wincing when they quickly reverted from the swollen one to the unharmed one.

"You've seen… the beatings…?" she whispered.

"Yes, Eve." Carl looked like he would cry too. "And I want to put an end to them."

"Carl, there's nothing you can do. I have to pay off the debt."

"Eve, you don't have to stay here."

"Then where will I stay?"

"I don't know. We'll find a place."

Eve gasped again, touching her chest. "We?"

Carl smiled at her through his battered face. "Yes. We."

"Carl…" Despite everything that had just happened, she felt ecstatic. She leaned forward and kissed him firmly and passionately on his bloody lips. Carl reacted quickly, kissing her back.

Eve had never felt so broken and so happy all at once. She only wished the moment of bliss could last longer, as she heard the door swing open and Duke step inside the room.

**xoxo**

Blue had never felt so confused. "What do we do, what do we do?" he cried frantically. "We can't let him in here with a gun and a dead body!"

"Calm down!" Bob said, but he was setting no calm example. "Who said Terry was dead?"

"Bob! Don't be stupid! It's storming outside, there's a dead old guy tucked under his arm and he stole his fucking gun!" Blue lashed out on a crate and punched through it, his unstable emotions scaring him. "It was murder!"

"Then what the fuck do you want us to do? It's too late to run!" Bob shrieked back. He trembled with obscure panic, his voice stinging with angst.

"I don't know, I don't know!" Blue shook his head violently, panting hard. "Goddess, Bob, we have to do something! A MURDERER IS WALKING UP TO US WITH EACH PASSING WORD WE SPEAK!"

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNW THAT?" Bob screamed.

"Holy shit, he's LIKE FIVE FUCKING STEPS AWAY!" Blue hollered, practically pressing his nose against the foggy window.

"Well obviously you don't let him see you!" Bob shot back thunderously. He shoved Blue to the ground. Blue retaliated and launched himself at him, both tumbling into the crates.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT F-"

The door opened and Ray stepped inside.


	7. The Aftermath

A/N: Chapter seven. Bleh, I don't really like this chapter. It's kind of boring writing the _aftermath _as the title persists, you know? Nonetheless, I think it'll do. Oh, and again, as you could (hopefully) tell, I mixed the pairings again. It's now officially Carl x Eve. (There will be no yaoi or yuri pairings throughout the story.)

So what do you guys think of this so far? Bad, good, weird? Thanks **Nobody **for reviewing! XDDD

**Warning/Disclaimer: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Miraculously, no language. (I think.) Some nice GORE.

Ta-da.

Her Name In Blood

Bob and Blue ceased all movement and speaking almost instantly. Their breaths caught dead in their throats, hearts pounded, and feet numbed. They were in a room with a dead body and an armed murderer- it was insane.

Blue wormed against the wall, trying not to be seen. He mouthed a tentative "Bob" when the room noticeably stilled but Bob gave him a killer look in reply, so he shrank back, at a loss for words. What did he have to say anyway? The words faded in his mouth.

Ray, on the other hand, stood at the other side of the crates for what seemed like an eternity. He thrummed the long hunter's gun against his palm like a whip and scanned the room. Blue felt like a bug- caught in an electrical net.

Ray stepped forward and Blue could nearly feel the tension rise in his throat. He wanted to pass out, he wanted to fall asleep- what he was witnessing was too much for him to handle. He was a simple farmer and he lived a simple life.

He had no intentions of being shot, either.

The fisherman took another stalled step, making the floorboards creak under him. All Blue could do was listen. He was afraid if he looked at him, Ray would look back. If he was caught… he dared not think about it. His chest rose and he took a sharp intake of breath, like a silent gasp, as Ray launched himself at him. He felt like screaming, but when he opened his eyes, he realized Ray wasn't on top of him.

Terry's dead body was.

He muffled a cry of disdain as the icy body pressed up against his stiff one, knowing if he even tried to push the corpse away, the two would be caught. It was already a miracle Ray hadn't noticed them.

After about half an hour, Blue almost forgot to feel scared. He couldn't believe himself, but he was actually feeling a bit… bored. Bored, as a dead body lay flat against his chest. Bored, as a killer stood six feet away from him. He wondered: what was Ray waiting for?

Finally he pivoted, and Blue thought he heard Bob sigh in relief. He'd almost forgotten Bob was there.

Ray edged towards the door and Blue felt colour rush to his cheeks. He was still alive. He wasn't shot. He wasn't wounded, he wasn't scratched. He was A-OK. And Ray hadn't even noticed they were-

"Take care of Terry for me, okay?"

Blue's jaw dropped as Ray casually stuck his hands in his pockets and waddled back out into the rain.

**xoxo  
**

Dan and Ronald stood side by side at the Paradise Orchard, watching the storm from the other side of the window as if it were a football game. Ronald and his niece Meryl had recently moved into Flower Bud Village and hired Dan. Ronald was from Guanajuato and was slowly catching onto the English language from him. Both were foreigners looking for a place to, er, "chill."

"Terrible," Ronald would occasionally say. Then he'd throw in something else. "Rain dilutes sugar of fruits. Terrible."

Dan would silently nod, agreeing. "No wonder Meryl went to her room right away. I would assume this storm would scare the crap outta her."

"Crap is right," he fumbled in his Mexican accent, though Dan knew Ronald didn't understand a word he'd just said. He smoothed out the wrinkle on his striped shirt. "Terrible."

They continued to watch the rain. It saddened Dan greatly- yet it was so… magical. Out of all the elements the sky could summon- rain, snow, wind, light- rain had to be his favourite. It was just so… he didn't even know how to describe it. It awed him that much.

"Terrible," Ronald repeated for the umpteenth time. He opened his mouth, as if trying to say something else, but then shut it again in the manner of a fish. "How terrible."

Dan felt a vein throb in his forehead. "If you say terrible one more time I'm gonna strangle myself."

Ronald shrugged in reply. He took a seat in a low stool, black eyes steady. "Why don't you go find something else to do? I continue look at rain."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't want you having all the _fun_," Dan drawled sarcastically, but he knew the guy was right. He pivoted and headed for Meryl's room, just to check up on her. She really did hate storms.

"Hey, Meryl? Can I come in?" He knocked on her door a few times. "Meryl?"

There was no reply. Maybe Meryl was asleep. Dan smiled warmly- Meryl was adorable. She had long dark hair and big, worrisome eyes. She was rather pale and had thin arms and legs. The scared look on her face was enough to make anyone "aww."

"I'm coming in, okay?" he said a little quietly, just so he wouldn't wake her up. He twisted the doorknob in a languid motion and peered in a crack, only enough to see Meryl's bed. She wasn't in it. That was odd.

He opened the door fully and his heart leapt to his throat. Paralysed as if someone had just cracked open his spine, he doubled over at the girl that hung lifelessly in a bloody mess on the ceiling.

**xoxo**

Martha's throat twisted in pretzel knots. "Oh dear, oh dear…" she said over and over again, clutching her heart as it fluttered madly in her chest. She looked at the paper but then snapped her head in the other direction, as if it were a basilisk- deadly to look in the eye. However, in this case, the eye was Katie's- the seventeen-year-old girl's, that is. It was like a replicate of a golf ball, and upon closer inspection, even though the picture was black and white, Martha could tell it was very bloodshot.

This wasn't supposed to happen. First Dia, then Gina, then Alex- now the whole village. Her mind raced, only wishing she could get Tuesday's paper. She had to find out what was happening.

Was it even Tuesday? She'd long lost track of time. Hurriedly, she ran for the bookcase. But running was not a smart thing to do in her position. She fell and sprawled on the ground, only to pant and try to pick herself up. Her blood pressure started acting up as she limped to the bookcase and dug through the newspaper archive in search of answers. The name "Katie" caught her eye and she yanked at the article, holding it inches away from her eyes. She speed-read, and when she realized it was just an autobiography about a successful realtor in the states, she tossed it to the ground and continued rummaging through it.

She searched for what seemed like hours before collapsing on the ground, her blood scorching her body. She couldn't even remember what she was looking for. Panting hard, she held onto the bed railing as she climbed to her feet, just to hear the knocking of the door.

Ears perked, she practically trampled down the stairs. When she wrenched the door open, she was expecting to see either Dia or Gina or Alex. But another woman stood in the their place, making Martha's jaw drop. She had long dark hair that was soaked by the rainfall, a pale white complexion, and green swampy eyes that bolded out of her face like a pop-out.

"I'm here to pick up my daughter." She spoke solidly and emotionlessly, stepping inside the sanatorium without invitation and causing Martha to stumble back foolishly. Her green eyes flashed as they darted around the room. "Where is Dia?"

Martha cocked her mouth open with an excuse, but the woman's eyes snapped into her. Like needles, they silenced Martha, who was bewildered.

"Show me to her," the woman said harshly. She started for the stairs.

"W-wait!" Martha cried, but was ignored.

_No… no… _

None of this was supposed to happen.

**xoxo**

Dia had awoken quite a while ago.

She sat cross-legged by a rock-lined pond like a China doll. Her hands were folded in her lap as she stared back at her quivering reflection.

She wished she could talk to someone. She felt so lonely.

Hours ago, after she'd collapsed, someone had carried her all the way to the Goddess Spring near the summit of the mountain. She didn't know how that was possible in the storm. She weighed less than the average person her age, so whether the person struggled or not was the least of her worries- but who was this person? She didn't know.

On instinct, she reached out and touched her reflection.

Inside the spring was so peaceful. Almost fake, even. And hearing and seeing nothing but a small grassy field and the occasional chirping of birds was a drastic change from clashing thunder, the icy whirlwind of rain, and the droning scream of wind. It made her feel like she'd been put in a painting.

"Is anyone there?" she called out. After a nice rest, her voice had recovered and she could speak coherently again.

No one replied, to her expected dismay.

Dia sighed and looked back down at the mirror of the gentle waves, then at the blissful chickadees and hares frolicking behind her. For some reason, it made her heart pang in fear.

It was _too_fake.

**xoxo**

Jamie panted heavily, collapsing onto the ground. It gave him a perfect view of the ceiling, of… the axe that stuck out from Saibara's head at an angle.

He'd just committed a murder. A real, intentional murder. Jamie was scared of death- yet he'd just _killed _someone.

But for now he didn't care. His anger had dissipated after a few dozen lungfuls of breath, but… nothing made up for what Saibara did. For his own sick enjoyment. Jamie felt rage thrum up in his chest again, but he made another deep breath and soothed it quickly.

"Mmph…"

Jamie cringed at the sound of Jack awakening. "Hey," he murmured quietly.

"Why the sad voice?" Jack sat up and stretched, rubbing his eyes. "Woah, I had a nice long sleep. What happened while I was knocked out?"

He looked at Jamie and cocked his mouth open to make a joke about racoon liver when his eye caught something behind the farmer.

"J-Jamie, are you bleeding?" he stammered.

"Jack…" It had to be done. Jamie stood up, revealing the destruction that had occurred behind him.

Jack froze, taking in the scene. Saibara looking like he'd taken a nosedive in a pool of blood with an axe jammed into the top of his head. Jamie looked like he'd just pottered with _bloody _clay. Then his brown eyes fell upon Kat, his Golden Retriever, whose head had been cut off from the rest of her furry body. Her head was flat and smushed… she looked like she'd been _lavished _in blood.

"How did this happen?" Jack whispered, still as a portrait. He breathed out slowly before soaking it all in. "Did… did you do this…?"

Jamie looked up at him steely. "I didn't touch your dog," he said with a death glare, but his hurt tone betrayed the gesture. "I… Saibara did."

"I-I'm not talking about Kat." Jack swallowed and looked Jamie in the eye. "What I'm saying is, did you do that…to Saibara."

Jamie hesitated before replying. "…Yes."

Jack's response made him freeze.

"Get away from me."

Jamie felt a pang of shock. He wanted to cry out and say he was attacked, he would've been killed, he tried to help… but he knew he was wrong. No matter what Saibara or Kat or anyone did, no matter what anyone said- he wasn't the witness. He was the victim.

The cold-blooded killer.

**xoxo**

Duke stood in the shredded threshold, looking like he'd just been thrown in a furnace. His usually shiny gray-black hair was charred, his clothes were burnt and tattered, and his face streaked with ashes.

"What did you do?" Eve cried, fear getting the better of her as she and Carl detached immediately.

Duke was silent for a moment, as if the words hadn't yet soaken in. Then he laughed, long and loud. "You'll all die…" he hissed coldly.

"What are you talking about?" Eve said. She lost all fear and tore towards him. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

To her surprise, he didn't even hit her. He just kept on laughing. "Prepare to burn…"

Eve opened her mouth in confusion when smoke reached her nostrils. She gasped, realization hitting her harder than Duke ever had. "You didn't… oh, Uncle, why?!"

Duke just smiled frankly at her before losing consciousness and falling flat on top of Eve- who pushed him off with disgust. Carl ran up to her hurriedly.

"What? What happened?" he said.

Eve clasped a hand to her mouth as she pointed to the room just behind where Duke lay.

"He's set fire to the house…"

**xoxo**

Gina hopelessly climbed to her feet. Before she could barely see, and now she just all-out _couldn't_ see. The rain looked like big dark smudges, and the trees like… even bigger, darker smudges. It was useless. She'd die being blind.

She threw herself against a tree, beginning to sob as its bark dug into her flesh. Nothing was right. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know where Dia was; she didn't know what would happen. If only her imagination could help her out on this one.

There was a flash in the distance. She was only able to see it because it stuck out of the darkness. She went for it, like a soul to heaven. It was almost comforting.

"Hey, you!"

A female voice threw her off guard. Who was this new figure?

"Who are you?!" the voice persisted. Soon enough, she heard the undeniable sound of a shotgun being cocked and faltered.

"M-my name is Gina," she said out loud.

"Gina, eh?"

After a few moments, she heard the sound of hooves traveling towards her. Feet hit the cobblestone beneath and she was pulled into a hard, firm shake.

"Name's Gwen. You look lost. How about you I take you to the inn?"

Gina had heard of the element of surprise, but she never thought it'd feel so _good. _"Would you?" she said, her voice crackling.

"Well, if you want." Gwen took her hand and saddled her up behind her on what appeared to be a tall horse. "Hang on tight."

She shot into the air with her shotgun, signalling her entrance. The horse reared up on its back two legs and neighed, almost causing Gina to fall off. It was back on its fours quickly though, galloping almost as fast as the rain hit the ground.


	8. No Way Out

A/N: Here is chapter eight. It's pretty short compared to some of the later chapters, which sucks, because I am… sprouting writer's block. I know, damn. So yeah, tell me what you think about this latest guy, and… erm, I can't say I'm proudest of this chapter.

Oh, and also, this is probably the last update I'll have for four to five days. I'm going to work tomorrow (hah, part-time mind you, I'm not up for that sort of dedication) and then having a three-day trip to… elsewhere. A thank-you note is at the end of this chapter :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own shit! Not really any gore, murder, or language. This chapter is based on mystery and suspense, I guess.

Showtime!

Her Name In Blood

"Where-are we- gg-oing?" Gina shouted over the twisting rain. The horse flung up and down as they advanced, making her voice waver.

Gwen didn't appear to hear her, so she tried yelling her query. "WHE-ERE ARE- WE- GOING-?"

The horse rider's voice sounded out a bit irritably. "Re- lax, I-I can hear- you!" she replied, still not answering her question.

"But where-"

"The inn, like I said!" Gwen snapped, and the hospitality that lavished her voice previously sounded foreign right now. "Now hush up as we get there!"

Hush up? What in the world…?

After a pregnant silence, Gina felt the horse slow and couldn't help but speak once more.

"Are we there?" she asked, relieved her voice wasn't shaking anymore. She had begun to feel a bit nauseous.

"Yeah, we're there alright," Gwen replied in a voice that suppressed a sneer. "C'mon, I'll help you off the horse."

Gina suddenly felt very distrusting of the girl, but obliged. She dared not defy a girl with a shotgun. Hands tugging on her wrist, she was practically dragged onto the dirt path by the cowgirl, who brushed off her legs when they detached.

"Alright, in here," she commanded, one arm wrapped around Gina's shoulders as she led her into the inn.

Gina blinked as she stepped inside. She expected immediate warmth- but all she felt was cold. Sure, the wind and rain no longer clashed against her body, but all was so still and icy.

"Where is everyone?" Gina asked, dumbfounded.

Gwen merely patted her back. "Stay here, okay girlie?"

"What?"

But Gwen extracted herself from the nurse, padding back outside to her horse.

"Where are you going?" Gina cried. She turned and her face hit the wall. No, not the wall… it was too rocky to be a wall. Betrayal pinched at her insides and for the umpteenth time, panic arose. "Where am I?"

"This, girlie, is Moonlight Cave. And you'll be stayin' here for a long, long time." Gwen's shrill laughter slowly died before completely fading, as if someone had pressed glass against Gina's ears.

"Gwen! Get me out!!" she screamed. She ran towards the direction where she heard the laugh and bumped into something hard. Blown back, it didn't feel like a barrier of glass. It felt like…

She ran her fingers along the cool surface of the anonymous object like a brail. After a few runs, she stepped back, breathing hard.

It was a boulder. A big, round boulder. Pressed against the cave entrance. Sealing her from the outside world. Trapping her.

"Bitch got you too?"

Gina whirled around, breathing hard at the sound of a male's voice. "W-what?" she stammered.

She heard the figure approach her in the pitch-black darkness. Even with her glasses, she wouldn't be able to see him.

"I'm sorry, Gina."

Alex.

**xoxo**

"RONALD! COME QUICK!!" Dan shrieked at the top of his lungs.

After three short seconds, he screamed it again. "NOW! GET OUT HERE, NOW!"

There was the sound of a stool being scooted back out and then feet shuffling. "What? What is happened?" Ronald said a few moments later as he poked his head through the doorway, where Dan swept up to him and grabbed him by the collar.

"MERYL! MERYL HAPPENED!" he thundered, his throat feeling scorched. "MERYL, SHE'S-"

"Ah, did you check up on her?" Ronald interrupted heartily, but then only made Dan's nostrils flare.

"MERYL'S DEAD!" he bellowed, shaking realization into the man.

Ronald stared at him in the manner of a dead fish. "What is happened?" he repeated.

Dan growled monstrously and dragged him down the hall, fist still furled against his wrinkled collar. "You want to see what happened?! Look at it!" Using all his strength, he shoved Ronald forward- but he was too heavy, and barely landed far at all.

"I don't see. What is happened?" Ronald asked again, and Dan wanted to slug him in the face.

"Stupid old man! Look inside! Her body, it's-" Dan froze in his tracks as he looked back into the room.

The blood was gone. The rope was gone. The stool was gone.

Meryl was gone.

"…I don't get it," Ronald finally said shortly. "Where is Meryl?"

Dan's jaw stretched as he took a shaky, disbelieving step into the room and ignoring the man's frequent mutterings of "What is happened? I don't see what happened."

"She- she was here. Just a second ago," he stuttered. "And there was blood everywhere, and a rope- the rope was _right _there." His voice cracked as he looked pointedly at the ceiling, then at Ronald. "You believe me, don't you?"

Ronald merely straightened his collar, shooting daggers at Dan. "You're crazy. Go to bed," he gruffed in almost perfect English.

Dan stood, bemused, his mouth curved open into the perfect circle. He turned around and looked at the ceiling, shook his head, and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked out of the room.

Not once did he notice the open window to his left.

**xoxo**

"A… a fire?" Carl repeated, looking bemused.

"Yes, Carl!" Eve snapped impatiently. "A fire! We have to get out!"

"But…" Carl began. "Our things… we can't leave them here!"

"Carl, that's the last thing we should worry about!" Eve cried. "We'll die if we don't get out here right now! And look at you, you're in bad enough shape already!"

He winced before looking down at Duke, taking him by his pudgy arm. "Okay, let's go."

Eve stared at him. "What are you doing?"

He stared back, something in his eyes flickering. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Eve would've recoiled in annoyance, but this was just too much. "He just beat you and you're willing to save his life?"

"Eve." He lowered Duke's arm momentarily before giving her his usual "I know what I'm doing" look. "Wouldn't you have done the same?"

Eve was taken aback by his question. It sounded more like an implement- _You can do it, so why can't I? _Nonetheless, she nodded solemnly and half-guiltily as she looked back at her unconscious uncle. She bent down to scoop up his other arm when she heard Carl chuckle.

"What?" she said.

"See? You _are _doing the same," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Eve's mouth was about to twist into a shy smile when she heard something break in the other room.

"It's falling!" she breathed. A gust of smoke swept by them and she started coughing, shrinking into Carl's open arms. "It's burning fast. We have to get out."

Carl nodded. They took the man's arms and made a beeline for the door- when the fire from the hall scurried around the outskirts of the building like a hoola-hoop. It left remnants above the entrance and on the ceiling; on the ground and on the tables. Before they could dart back in defence, a chunk of wood above the threshold exploded and fell before them.

"Come on!" Carl shouted before Eve had a chance to fully comprehend the burning scene. "There has to be another way out!"

Shaking like a leaf, she took his hand as they rushed past the burning walls of the café.

_Another way out. _

Fat, juicy tears planted in her eyes. Eve knew the building inside and out. As far as another way out was concerned…

There wasn't one.

There was no other way out.

**xoxo**

"Dude. What just happened." Bob shot up like a statue being erected from the dirt. His question didn't even sound like a question- it sounded more like a reality check.

"I… he knew…" Blue breathed. But before he could discuss the scene with Bob…

He turned and kicked Terry's dead body in the side, making him roll over into a slew of crates.

"Blue!" Bob barked. "What was that for?"

He merely shrugged in reply. "He was getting on my nerves."

"He's dead."

"Still getting on my nerves."

Bob let out a slow breath, and the young farmer could've sworn he could visibly see the cold air puffing out of his mouth. At first he only thought it was because his body was going numb and his mind loopy, but now Blue confirmed that the air was noticeably chilling.

"Why is it suddenly so cold?" he asked, as if expecting a sensible answer.

He wasn't disappointed. "Maybe the freezer Terry's body came out from contaminated the shed," Bob pointed out.

They both laughed, but it sounded like rocks in a blender. If there was a wrong time to laugh, it was then- but for the sake of pretending like everything was okay, they did so anyway.

**xoxo**

"Please, wait!" Martha protested. "I-I… you can't go upstairs!"

This slowed Dia's mom down, but only barely. Still, it made Martha suppress a sigh of relief.

"And why would that be?" She gave Martha a quick, condescending look- like the elderly woman was a bug, a nuisance, a disgrace.

"Because- Dia isn't up there." What would she say, what would she say? She had no one to answer her questions right now but herself.

"Tell me, hag, why wouldn't she be up there?"

Martha was too panicked to be offended. "I… I…"

She'd had never been thrown in such a difficult position. She made things up as she went along, praying to the Goddess she wouldn't be condemned for her lies. "She was… she was taken, by the…"

The woman's eyes widened. "Where did you take my daughter, wench?" She hightailed back down the stairs, the long satin dress she was clad in swaying. When her feet hit the bottom landing, she stabbed a finger against Martha's pounding chest. "I got the memo that Dia would be staying in the sanatorium until I arrived to claim her. Was I wrong?"

Her words stung like poison. Fangs of poison.

"No, please, just listen to me-" Martha practically begged. She'd come up with the wrong excuse, and she knew it.

"No! Enough!" Dia's mother said shrilly. She snapped away from Martha as if she were a crab that had just gotten hold of her hand. "Bring me to her at _once! _I will have you in prison for hiding my child!"

Martha broke. It wasn't time for lies anymore. "Listen to me, Dia's mother," she said in the firmest, most grandmotherly tone she could muster. "Dia has run away."

Her mouth cocked open, so she continued.

"The circumstances are unknown, as is the explanation as to why she decided to suddenly leave." She shot the woman a sincere look. "We have sent our best doctors out to find her, and they will return shortly." Then the newspaper article popped up in her mind again.

_Inquirers have flocked to it but it seems that just hours ago, lightning appeared around the perimeter of the storm and zapped anyone and everyone approaching it. It seems that no one can get in; no one can get out. _

The question as to why and how she had managed to get through the barrier of lightning whilst everyone else could not rose to her throat, but the woman extinguished it with ease and fury.

"You dare speak to me in such a tone!" she rasped, nostrils flaring. "If my daughter is outside in _that_, not only will I press charges against you _and _have you arrested; I will-"

The door burst open and a new face fell upon the dim lights of the waiting room, causing both Martha and Dia's mother to stumble back.

The figure spoke calmly and directly, eyes reverting to either woman steely.

"I know where Dia is. Come with me."

**xoxo**

Dia sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time, her arched body perched against a low Willow tree. Its leaves drooped almost sulkily beneath its wake and even down past its trunk. As morbid as it sounded, Dia had chosen that tree to sit under because it was the least joyous of the rest of the scenery. Somehow, it only seemed real because it was… sad, for lack of better vocabulary. Because real things, happy things, they all came with a price. Dia looked up at the moping tree and wondered what price _it _paid. She wondered if it had ever been beautiful, and then grown old with age. Or perhaps it was born sad.

Like her.

She stood up and walked back to the Goddess Spring, almost sickened by the sweetness of the air. She was used to hospital air. In general, she wasn't used to this sort of outdoor luxury… or perfection.

"There's no such thing as perfect," Dia kept murmuring to herself. She took a walk down the Goddess Spring but it only made her more doubtful. Everything… it all really did seem perfect. The animals were happy, harmonious, peaceful… the trees were vibrant, luscious, lush…the fruits they bore were juicy, tender, unscathed… everything was perfect.

She bit her lip. There was a feeling in her gut and lower abdomen- a guilty feeling for finding fault in everything.

_As long as something is liable to be perfect, it is liable to be tainted. _

She sat back against the Willow, wondering if the storm had let up.

It hadn't.

**xoxo**

Okay, first of all, I'd totally love to thank everybody who has reviewed up to this point. In fact, I've got nothing better to do ;) Why not reply to you all, starting from the beginning?

**The Scarlet Sky** – Fuck, you rock. I'm glad you reviewed my story; after all, I feel twice as accomplished having feedback by someone that can write a good story as well, hm? (No, I'm not trying to flatter you to make you review more. LOL.) Lol, do I really have you at the edge of your seat? Your reviews made me smile as I read them over again :D

Dude, that sounded so corny it's not even funny. Anyway, thanks again for having the first review.

**Momo-chan12 – **I love reading your ecstatic reviews. Thanks so much for commenting on… everything I write about. Lol XD. Again, thank youuu for confirming the flow of the story. I love opinions.

**Cujos13th – **Cujo! Thanks for reviewing… twice. Hahah. You're like, the awesomest complimenting eggplant (cough other side censored) ever. Of course, you'll always be the master of murder, huh? ;D

**RainbowMelody – **LOUISE:O You're the first person to read the story besides me:DD cough now you're a witness for all the people that have been murdered. I'm glad I rock your rainbow socks, but as WC says, I'd rather make your BEDROCK! LMFAO!!!!11 XDDD errr… yeah, I'm kidding OO;

**klutz586 – **Awwe, thank you :D Lol, I never thought you'd drop a review. But thanks. It made my… hour and forty-five minutes. (jk. So longer than that.)

**kisa-chan-2006 – **Thanks for reviewwwiiinnng! Lmfao, you made me realize what genre this story is… Romance/Thriller/Angst/Suspense or whatever. You know, the romance was never intended I guess it just accidentally came out. Oh, well, I guess it worked… bleh, I think. For like the sixtieth time, merci beacoup tres mucho. Oh wait, that's like… Spanish or something. gah, I can't speak Spanish…

**Nobody/Chicken Yuki – **omglol. You made me laugh when I checked the reviews XDD thanks a bunch. And yes, I love Gina and Dia in general. I'll try not to diss them but mind you, everyone must undergo PAIN ;D And the Carl x Eve thing just like… I don't know, came to me. At first the concept was for Eve to be raped every week, not beaten, and for Carl to be gay so she wouldn't be able to have him. But then I had to change the rating to M, and it totally wasn't showing up on Just In anymore, so I just changed it ;

**No, these are not ending credits with me thanking everyone**. Trust me, until the day I die, this fanfic shall NEVER end. Mwahahah! … no actually, I have no clue when it's going to be end, but I don't plan on it being soon.

Like, I've always been one to like dark imagery, and this fanfiction came to mind, so I've been going from there. To be honest I never knew what the hell was going on in my mind when it all began… and then… WRITING SPURT. Each chapter took me at least an hour and a half to write… bleh, it sucks to be slow, lol.

Okay, I'm done with the ridiculously long note thing. See ya. Love ya.

**XXXXXX.**


	9. Burning Embrace

A/N: I couldn't help but update. I'm sorry, but writing this is like crack right now. This is just a mini-update, mind you, because I feel the emotions of this chapter isn't fitting to the gore and macabre of the other scenes.

Thanks so much **The Scarlet Sky**, **klutz586 **and **Radioactive X-Naut **for reviewing. Kisses.

This is the last update. I swear. Then I'm gone. Three days. Zip. Don't expect to hear from me.

…Oh yeah, and on another side note, this story will be shorter than presumed. There aren't enough characters for me to toy with, and half the ones I reconsidered using are already dead. Importing characters from other Harvest Moon games is much too confusing, so… I guess this won't be as long as I thought.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Harvest Moon. _Very _mild language. Death.

Enjoy.

Her Name In Blood

It all happened in slow-motion. Carl pulling Eve through the burning café as Eve pulled a half-dead Duke, heat waves making their eyes shrink into their heads. The scene elapsed in orange, in red; in blue… they made Eve's head hurl and her stomach lurch. The pain was greater than any pain anyone could have inflicted on her. And for the first time in her life she wasn't fearing for herself, but solely for Carl. Eve had no reason to live. But Carl… Carl was an amazing man. He was funny, smart, multi-talented. He could have a future. Eve would rot in a remote town in the middle of nowhere. Carl would go far- and there she was, holding him back.

Tears running, Carl searched frantically for an exit, barely missing the flames as they nipped at his aching heels. He gripped tightly onto Eve's hand, as if it were a lifeline to him. He tore through each room, head snapping around for an exit. Every time Eve screamed that there was no other way out, he'd just ignore her and drag her to the next room.

Burning, burning, crashing, dying… Eve had never pictured anything like this. She always pictured dying of old age, or in a hospital bed, or in her sleep. Not in an indebted café slash house with her loved one linked to her five fingers. The flames, they burned and scorched more searingly than her tears… she didn't care if she died. She didn't care at all. Just… Carl…

She opened her mouth several times to say something. She wanted to reassure Carl it'd be okay, just to see his smile. She wanted to tell him she knew the way out- but she didn't. There was nothing, nothing she could say. Nothing… but…

"Carl, I'm sorry."

Eve tore away from his hold on her hand, and she felt her lifeline break. Then she saw Carl's crestfallen, bloody face and felt her_self _break. Breaking… breaking… shattering.

"Eve, what's the matter? We have to find a way out!" Carl said through static in his voice.

Eve realized her conscience was blinking. She hacked a few times, but pulled back when Carl touched her shoulder to pat her back.

"Carl, I… I can't be here with you." Her throat felt like a syringe; pushing oxygen out but not taking it back in. "I don't want to see your face, I don't want to see… you cry… when…"

"I won't die, Eve! Now take my hand!" Carl protested, a thousand times more deflated.

"Carl, that's exactly the point!" Eve cried. "You're so persistent! Why don't you ever give up? Carl, I love you! Okay! But there's no hope!"

Carl backed up, his face switching from helpless to stoic. "So that's how it is. You're being selfish."

Eve's mouth stretched open. "W-what?!" That wasn't the reply she'd expected. And as she felt more smoke blacken her divisioned heart, she watched Carl's eyes grow glassy with tears.

"You _never _have hope, Eve. You _never _act like you can do it. Why… how do you get through life, knowing there's no light to look into when you wake up in the morning?" He started to scream, making Eve's chest pang. "HOW DO YOU GO TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, SOBBING LIKE A FREAKING PIECE OF CRAP?"

Eve almost smiled at the sound of Carl's sub-cuss. After all this shit, he still couldn't curse. But then her half-grin was slapped off by his next words.

"That's just you, isn't it! It's all about you! It's all about how you're gonna be OK!" Carl cried. He wasn't ranting; he wasn't scolding her. He wasn't doing any of that. He was… trying to pound himself down. "Haven't you ever had a dream, Eve? Don't you want to live it? Or do you want to die here with me? How can you have no hope?"

Eve's mouth quivered until she spoke. "Carl. You're wrong."

He opened his mouth to retort when Eve cut through him.

"I hope, Carl. I really do. I hope that one day, Duke will stop beating me. I hope that my family can come back to me, even though I know they're all dead and watched them die in front of me, one by one. I don't act like I can do it, Carl, because acting will get me nowhere. I am not a fake person. I listen to my heart." She touched it. "Not my head. I go through life, Carl, by living beside you. I go to sleep at night, sobbing like a rag and dreaming about you smiling at me and holding me in your arms. It isn't about me, Carl, because my heart is breaking right now and I feel like killing myself knowing I'll be responsible for your death if it does occur. I don't care if I'm OK, Carl. I just want you to be. I had a dream, Carl, and I still do- it's to get married with you. I want to live it, I hope to live it soon, and if I have to die with the one I love in a building set on flames then I swear it, I will."

Carl looked stricken. Ashes layered across his sandy-brown hair and a post fell onto its charred side to his left, but he didn't care. He stepped forward towards Eve, as if they were in their own world, on a cloud instead of burning wood. The tip of his foot dug into the tip of hers, like they were both in their bare feet on the white beaches on the other side of the world instead of ripped scuffs that fell apart with each passing movement. Then he took her hand, like she was made of velvet instead of blood.

Then he went down on one knee, and Eve's heart stopped.

"You want to live it, don't you? Is this soon enough? Because I don't care if I die here with the one I love either." Carl's eyes flared with passion as they melted into Eve's. "Will you marry me?"

Tears juiced out of her eyes and streaked her ashy face. She collapsed into Carl's embrace, crying hard into his shoulder. "I will," she whispered into his earlobe.

So it was settled, that they'd both decided to die inside the burning building, instead of blindly find a way out. They kissed for the last time and then pulled away, just looking into each other's eyes.

But it didn't matter in the end. It wouldn't matter what they did, because they got their dream. Even though they weren't living anymore, they would live it.

The fiancés entwined their fingers and held tightly to each other, not once parting as the red, blue, and orange hellfire devoured what was left of their bodies.

_It didn't matter, because when they found each other, they would live it again._

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **Yes. Carl and Eve are dead. Just thought I needed to reconfirm that.


	10. Lose It

A/N: Hey everybody, I'm back from my vacation! Yeah, it was pretty kickass. Except I saw my grandmother in a bathing suit O.O Err… onto chapter thingies. I've decided that this will no longer be one of those long-fic things. (Those guys require fillers, ew). I'm planning to end this story soon, and start up on a Rune Factory fanfic. (Yeeees, I got it in the states. I recommend it-ish). It doesn't matter anyway, because I think writing this has given me a lot of experience, for lack of better word. The chapters are getting shorter… I've killed all the excess characters off. Damn.

I'm gonna make the best out of the rest of this story, so continue to expect frequent updates. I've got to say, Blue and Bob are my favourite characters to write about ;)

Thanks **klutz586**, **The Scarlet Sky**, **kisa-chan-2006**, and **NightimeRoseOX** for reviewing :)

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Not any warnings, actually… damn, I'm getting weak.

This chapter is dedicated to happy sacks.

Her Name In Blood

Jamie remained in the same position he was in, as did Jack. Neither said a word, Jack still surveying the scene with wide eyes. Jamie, however, knew completely what happened, requiring not a second more to contemplate it- he didn't know why he was being silent in the first place. Was he too ashamed of the murder at his hands, or was he giving Jack the cold shoulder?

_Where is my pride? _Jamie's fists clenched. _I know what happened. Shouldn't I be…_

_Be what? Worshipped? Rejoiced? What should you be, Jamie, for committing a murder? _

Then his heart sank so painfully he felt it throb, still unable to meet eyes with Jack. He couldn't say, "It wasn't my fault," because it clearly was, and he'd just admitted it was as well. The only thing to do was… act calm. Was that the case here? How was he supposed to act, in a situation like this? Back at his farm, he'd always mentally trained himself for whenever an animal got loose, or whenever the fence broke. He'd never thought he'd need preparation for an excuse as to why he rammed an axe through a claymaker's skull.

He was startled as Jack stood up- but not facing him. Jamie expected a brutal screaming from him, or some glacial, guilting words. What was he doing?

Jack started to walk to the opposite side of the room, Jamie's eyes on the back of his head. When he stopped, Jamie looked down for the first time and his guilt vanished, being replaced by terror.

Jack had bent down and picked up a hoe.

"What are you doing, Jack?" It came out more quietly and shaky than he intended.

Jack's eyes flashed into his. "I'm teaching you what it's like to die, because you obviously don't know the pain."

Jamie was greatly taken aback.

"_This is what it's like to die…" _

_Jamie grunted so loudly it felt like a low scream, clobbering the axe downward like lightning._

Again, he felt the sensation of bringing the axe down, and the cool drizzle of blood against his skin.

But he was snapped out of his thoughts when Jack charged towards him, his hoe raised against his shoulder.

**xoxo**

Martha and Dia's mother followed the mystery man slowly, neither of them questioning who he was. As long as he knew where Dia was, that was all that mattered. Martha felt relieved and scared all at once. Relieved that Dia was found, but scared of what state she was in _when _she was found. Instant images of blood, gore, and tragedy flooded her mind, unable to get them out.

"What's your name?"

Her head shot up at the sound of Dia's mom's voice. She waited for the man to reply, but realized she was talking… to her.

"My name is Martha," she replied, trying not to sound nervous.

"Oh." She brushed herself up quickly. "Well, my name is Elvira."

"Elvira…" Martha repeated. She looked up at the man, who was walking with a slight limp just a few feet ahead of them. She was too scared to ask for his name.

The next few minutes included silences. Elvira tripped once and grabbed onto Martha's arm, but nothing else happened. Upon closer inspection, Martha realized they were going up the mountain trail. She said nothing as well.

Finally, the man spoke.

"We are almost there." Something about his tone just wasn't right. It was… emotionless. But not monotone. It was too hollow to be monotone.

"But… we're in the mountains. I don't think Dia can make it up the mountains," Martha began. She waited for the man to say something back, but he didn't.

"Walk across this," he said as they came to a halt in that same, empty tone. Then he shifted over a bit, revealing the limp rope-and-wood made bridge that had been there for decades. No one even knew who built it; it was so old.

Martha saw Elvira eye it wearily in the corner of her eye. She too wondered if it was even safe.

Her breath caught when the man grabbed the rope rail and started walking across. Still not assured, Martha followed soon after him, taking slow, steady steps and clutching the rail tightly with both hands. She felt colour rush to her cheeks as she made it to the end.

"Go," the man commanded darkly, eyeing Elvira with steel eyes.

Elvira faltered for a minute. Then she furled her fists slowly against the railings and tried to repeat what the other two did.

"You're almost there," Martha boosted after a few stiff steps.

Elvira bit her whole bottom lip, nodding and actually looking a bit more confident.

She took another step down the bridge as it completely split in half.

**xoxo**

Gina felt more shocked than ever. "You're apologizing to me?" she asked. "But why?"

Alex took a steady breath. "I shouldn't have let you go."

Gina felt an immediate pang of embarrassment. She realized soon after that he'd been referring to the separation… nothing to do with their relationship. No. Nothing.

"It's okay." She would feel too guilty if she told him about how she'd been responsible for ditching him in the first place. _Ditching_, she thought. _That's what I did, isn't it?_

"No, it's not okay. There's a terrible storm out there and…" He sighed heavily. "I am so, so sorry."

"Really, Alex, it's o-" Gina was at a loss for words when the doctor stepped towards her and pulled her into a tight hug. She returned it a little awkwardly, but she meant it all the same. They silently hugged for what seemed like an eternity. Gina didn't care. She fell into his embrace wholly.

"Are we going to die?" she finally whispered. She didn't know if it was her idea of a pick-me-up or what.

Alex spoke without hesitation. "No." That was all. No.

Gina blinked, still holding tightly against the doctor. His grasp was warm, passionate, and comforting… yet something wasn't right. Her breath unevened.

_He's thinking of Dia, isn't he?_

**xoxo**

"Bob, I'm going insane!" Blue screamed into the eerie silence, jamming his knee into the crate parallel from him. "I can't do this anymore!"

Bob looked exasperated. "Blue, shut up," he said for the thousandth time.

Blue leapt up and started flailing his arms in the air like a madman. "NO! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"

Again, the bulky rancher sighed. "Blue…"

"No! That's not my name anymore!" Blue slammed his face against the hard wood wall. "I'll change it to Yellow! Or Red! Or even Rainbow!!" he shrieked. "Just not Blue!"

"Blue, you're going mad!" Bob roared, standing up. He'd intended to scare Blue to the point where he'd finally shut up, but it was to no avail.

"_I AM MAD_!!!" he bellowed. He looked around frantically, then picked up a milker off the wall and started hitting it against his nose.

Bob stared, entranced, for a couple moments. Then he walked up to Blue and wrenched the milker out of his hands, tossing it behind the array of crates where Terry's corpse laid.

"Blue, sit down," Bob said, roughly shoving him onto the floor. "I want you to take a deep breath."

Blue breathed giddily, his knuckles whitening as he gripped the sides of his pants.

"EXHALE!" Bob yelled when his face purpled, smacking him on the back until he gagged.

Blue chewed on the insides of his mouth. "That makes me feel _much _better," he said sarcastically.

Bob stared, bemused. He had seemed to calm down.

"…Tomatoes!" Blue burst out into the abrupt silence, snickering.

Well, not completely, but at least he'd stopped playing leapfrog on the crates.

"Why don't you take a nap or something?"

"A nap?" Blue repeated incredulously. "Is that your idea of fun?"

Again, Bob was shocked. Since when did Blue understand the concept of _fun_?

"You're loopy!" he exclaimed. "You're completely deranged! What happened to the Blue I knew?"

Blue's face numbed emotionlessly. He was silent before bursting into blatant guffawing.

"What?!" Bob demanded tersely.

"You… you…" Tears rolled down the side of his face. "Blue rhymes with knew!"

It was Bob's turn to hit himself in the nose with a milker.

**xoxo**

Dan's resolve seemed to melt as he thought back to when he'd seen Meryl. He'd come to the decision that it wasn't a mirage he'd seen- it was the real deal. And Meryl… the rope? The blood? The overturned stool? She'd hung herself. It was no coincidence.

He bit back tears. But why? Why would Meryl kill herself? Was she really that unhappy?

_Unhappy doesn't even cut it… _he thought in utter misery. _Was she so… revolted, to the point where she decided to… end her life? Was it all that bad? _

He almost wished he could go back to the scene. _Almost. _It was said that if you died with a smile on your face, you'd go to heaven, and a frown- to hell. Then he shuddered, envisioning Meryl's purple, vein-bursting face, and seeing a deep grimace implanted in it.

_No_. It was just a myth. It didn't matter.

He approached Ronald wearily, deciding not to mention Meryl whatsoever. He'd pushed it back there, and he knew it. Plus his pride was too tight to let out the s-word. It was best to pretend it never happened.

"Erm, terrible storm, isn't it?" he said, mirroring the man.

Ronald merely raised an eyebrow at him before turning back to the window.

Slumping, Dan stalked over and sat down on the floor on the other side of the room. It would be too unnerving walking down the hallway… and passing _her _room…

**xoxo**

Dia blinked and awoke soundly. She boosted her back up against the tree trunk of the Willow and looked around. Had she fallen asleep? She brushed the fallen, crisp-green leaves off her lap and stood up slowly.

No one was there- _still. _That is, no one but her.

A branch shook from behind her, causing her to whip around in fright. When she saw a petite chipmunk cock its furry brown head at her, she breathed in relief. Then she bent down and reached towards the chipmunk, expecting it to scamper away, but instead it stayed. She petted its back, enjoying the soft feel of its fur. Then she stood up, and it climbed up the tree, where it disappeared from view.

_Too perfect_.

She looked at the imprint her body had made in the field of grass and just wished she hadn't awoken so soon. Then, for lack of better things to do, she squatted down before the grass and picked the long, full flowers that smiled enticingly at her from the soil.

**xoxo**

Martha let out a strained gasp the instant the rope broke. She cringed when she heard Elvira let out a bloodcurling scream, piercing the sky louder than any thunder. Her body shot upright as she tumbled forward aerially. Martha's breath had caught the instant the bridge had collapsed below the woman. She shot forward to try and grab onto her wrist, like they did in movies. But to her surprise- and terror- the man had seized Elvira instead. By her _hair_.

"What are you doing!?!" Martha shrieked. She felt like pounding the man, but she knew it wouldn't be a good idea. Holding herself back, her eye bulged out of her head as the man dragged Elvira onto the land, still having a vicegrip on her long black hair. The instant her legs touched the soil, he snapped away.

"We are here."


	11. Tongue Tied

**Hey, Nikki, if you happen to be reading this, I didn't steal Elvira from you. I was looking up a name for the defition of "foreign" on a baby name site :p**

A/N: Chapter eleven, I think. Yeah, chapter eleven. I'm partially happy with this chapter… I guess that's because it finally has some nice, juicy violence. Oho, and when I say juicy, I mean juicy. And yes, I have started a Rune Factory fic. No, it will not intervene with the progress of this story. I update depending on whenever I feel like updating, which happens to be quite often. So if I do it less, then that has nothing to do with it. And hey, Tongue-Tied, everybody. That's my favourite Faber Drive song.

Thank you **The Scarlet Sky, klutz586**, **kisa-chan-2006** and **Radioactive X-Naut** for reviewing. Love ya guys.

**Disclaimer/Warning:** I don't own Harvest Moon. No language, but lots of violence.

-lifts platter-

Her Name In Blood

The man started off towards the Goddess Spring, Elvira and Martha tailing him wordlessly. They didn't even spare glances at each other as the man stopped and eyed them.

"You will wait here," he said darkly.

"What?" Elvira asked, her voice sounding shrivelled and powerless. Martha could hear the fright in her voice. "I don't want to wait, I want to see my little girl…" She felt like she was watching Elvira naked, like it wasn't possible to hear such a proud woman speak in such an undignified tone…

But the man ignored her protests. "You will wait here, and you will not come out under any circumstances," he continued, his tone switching from cold to… inhumane. He stepped forward, sending tremors through Martha's weakened body. "You will wait." Something in his tone was wrong- just like everything else happening in the once peaceful town of Flower Bud Village.

"Where will we wait?" Martha questioned, trying to sound as coherent as she possibly could through the unmerciful hand of the wind. She felt it was safest- yet least safe- to comply. Safe because no immediate harm would be done, and unsafe for practically all the other reasons in the world. She didn't know where, or how long, or why, or when she would wait, and she didn't know whom she was waiting _for_. But she felt fate had caught up with her as instinct bubbled in her torso, words practically echoing in her head telling her to let it be.

_Let it be. _If she'd let everything be to begin with, Alex's wound would have confided him to a hospital bed for several weeks, Gina wouldn't hate her, and she would have let Elvira walk all over her back in the sanatorium. Maybe letting things be didn't always lead to the right answer, but as she stilled in the numb coil of the Stratus, she felt there were no right answers anymore. There were only wrong answers or neutral answers now, or misleading ones- the ones she was getting more than she liked.

Everyone was in danger. And she knew it.

"You will wait here, in this cave," the man rasped. He didn't have to jump and point; the cave's wide entrance was clear in view.

"W-what is it?" Elvira trembled, pulling closer to Martha. Martha allowed her to wrap her arms around hers, feeling it was the least she could do for the poor, horrified woman.

"This, my dear, is the shortcut to Moonlight Cave." The man smiled briefly, his teeth hidden, taking another step towards the two.

"We can go down ourselves," Martha told him sharply, and she instantly knew what he was trying to do. Her breath caught as he swept up to them and forced the two into the hole, her scream muffled by the spew of rocks caving in soon afterwards.

_Let it be. _

She closed her eyes, and the last thing she felt was Elvira gripping her arm tightly, swift vomits of boulders causing them to drift apart and into the open gap of time.

xoxo

"Ronald…"

Dan stood tipsily on the other side of the door, swaying uncertainly by his feet. For some reason, he was feeling especially… strange. Not just his body, but his mind as well. Silently gagging away the urge to vomit all over the floor, his neck strained against the wall.

"R-Ronald!" He had to get the man's attention. "Ronald, answer me."

But the man refused poignantly, his nose high in the air. This made a vein in Dan's forehead throb violently. Feet planted so deeply into the ground Dan could almost feel the brown soil beneath, he gasped when his heart pounded at his ribcage.

"Ronald, someone's at the door," he said a little more forcefully, trying hard to ignore the explosion of hurt in his chest. "They're at the door, knocking." This caused Ronald to turn and face him for the first time.

"Really?"

Dan felt a sardonic comment rise to his throat but disguised it as a cough instead. He nodded, stepping aside so Ronald could answer it. For some reason, he… felt scared to. Something rolled in his stomach, making him bend over in a feeble attempt to reduce the nausea.

"Who is it?" Ronald called against the door smartly.

There was no reply.

"Hello?" Ronald continued to say. He edged closer to the door, making Dan snap forward instinctively. "What?" Ronald rasped.

Dan shot backwards, stumbling at his heels. What was getting into him? "N-nothing. What are you doing?"

"I seeing who is outside. Stupid!" Ronald fumbled. He spoke louder this time. "HELLO?"

Still, no reply.

Ronald wrapped his hand around the doorknob to check who was outside. Dan's muscles reacted on reflex, and like a spring he charged forward and shoved Ronald tumbling to the ground.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Ronald shouted. The line had crossed. "What is gotten into you?!"

Dan looked at his hands as if he'd sprouted claws. "I don't kn— I'm sorry…" he stammered. What was this… twitch in his gut? He felt like he was being controlled… and the signal antennae was deep in his body, branching and clinging onto each and every cell, moving them to its bidding…

Both men jumped when they heard another furious knock on the door. It sounded like someone was trying to beat it down.

"WHO IS THERE!" Ronald thundered.

The knocking ceased once more, causing Dan's throat to coil, especially when Ronald threw himself toward the door.

"No, stop! Don't open it!" he cried in a voice even he barely recognized. It was only then he realized his entire body was trembling, like an autumn leaf in the wind. Dan's eyes practically pressed into his tense skull as he watched Ronald twist open the doorknob ten times slower than he really was. He dashed forward, but his knees buckled from underneath him before he could make it. "Ronald!" he pleaded.

The door opened, and Dan didn't even have the chance to scream when a bullet tore through either side of Ronald's ears.

xoxo

Dan's body continued to shake. He couldn't move at all, but he could still feel things. Feel the writhing pain shooting up and down his spine, and the nausea from watching Ronald's body as it fell backward onto the floor.

_Thump_.

It landed with one defiant sound effect, and then all was silent. Dan couldn't speak. He was tongue-tied all the way at the back of his throat, which had grown dry and coarse.

He didn't blink once as another presence walked into the room, heels clicking behind them. Dan moved nothing but his eyes, soul burning when they fell upon a female with a shotgun handle entwined in her three fingers. She spotted him immediately and started walking over to him, causing Dan's jaw to fall open due to lack of energy to hold it up. He felt a hand prop his jaw back up, and his eyes widened further.

The girl had crouched down and was now holding his chin, her red eyes clashing against his blue ones.

"You're a cute one, aren't you?" she said softly.

Dan didn't say anything back. He couldn't.

"What's the matter?" She leaned in until their noses touched. "Cold feet?"

Anger thrummed up in his chest. He could feel himself getting up and punching her right across the face— kicking that shotgun out of her hand and shoving it up her…

His eyelids grew heavy. He could feel it all happening… but it wasn't happening in reality. And reality was all that mattered.

"Do you feel weak?" the girl continued, enjoying herself as her lips stretched into a grin.

Dan didn't reply. She didn't seem to expect him to, because she didn't give him a chance to speak.

"I was _right _there, by the window, and you didn't even see me!" she purred, stroking his cheek with one thumb. "_Me-ow_, too bad you didn't catch the gas either."

Dan gave her a look, as if sending her a subliminal message: _What gas? _

"Orange gas," the girl answered sharply, as if reading his mind. "We found it in Moonlight Cave and stuck it in a nice big bottle. It's extremely dangerous— and fatal when breathed in." Her eyes grew almost sympathetic as she tilted her blonde head. "You didn't breath it in, now, did you?"

Dan tried to clench his teeth. He tried to ball his hands into fists. He tried to open his mouth and scream. But he couldn't move at all. So he laid there, on his stomach, exposed and unwounded. It was practically a _Kill Me _stance.

"Now, the effects are only temporary," she continued with a tease in her voice. "But it is still very serious. Whether or not you make it out alive—" Dan's breath caught. "You will never move the same again. How does that sound?"

Tears poured freely from his eyes, glistening against his skin. He couldn't stop them. Was it true, that the only thing he had the power to do was cry? He felt more pathetic then scared. He believed, that if you died fighting, you'd die happy. But that would all go down in vain.

He couldn't even fight back his own tears.

The girl slid her finger behind her back, then brought it back to her front snakily. She brought a knife to Dan's finger and pressed into it, earning a mental scream from him. She smiled as if she heard it and began pushing it down as hard as she could, both palms flat against the back of the blade. Blood gushed out of the wound and onto her denim miniskirt as she went for the second finger, giving him the most angry yet blissful look when his eyes squinched in utter pain.

"You never even had a chance," she laughed, and that only made Dan shrink into himself with remorse.

He never even had a choice.

xoxo

Dia stood up. She had had it. She was getting out of the Goddess Spring, no matter what. The storm outside sounded like an oasis compared to that place at the moment. She swept to her feet and lifted one knee to pivote, but froze on the spot.

_Where was out? _

The entire time, she hadn't even realized that there was no entrance. She had a clear view of everything, a 360 degrees eagle's eyesight… yet she couldn't see where to go in, or out. Fear pulsed her veins. Would she die in there? Would she be… trapped?

She jumped when she heard a crack from behind her. Whipping around, she took in the sight of a young man heading towards her, head down to the ground. She didn't recognize him in the least.

She opened her mouth to speak but was silenced when the man looked back up at her, now just six feet away.

"Dia. I have come for you," he murmured in a flat, empty voice.

Dia was at a loss for words. Her feet were planted to the ground, even after she'd received fifty messages from her brain screaming _GET OUT OF THERE, DIA! _She let out a small gasp as the man rested a hand on her cheek, paralysed like a bug in a spider web.

"You cannot be trusted, Dia."

A flame rose to the depleted pupils of her eyes, which shone a viridian colour. They darkened when the man's shadow pulled over them, his arm clamped upon hers like a snake.

"She knew. I know you do as well. But she paid her price. It's time for yours."

Dia didn't try to pull away, knowing he'd just yank her back forcefully. In her weak, sick condition, one move he inflicted on her could send her straight to the gateways of hell…

"Who is she?" she said, her voice wavering.

Kurt glanced at her like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Stupid girl. _You know_."

"W…what?" Dia stammered.

"HOW COULD YOU FORGET?" Kurt roared, suddenly furious.

Dia cocked her mouth to say, "Forget what?" but she was interrupted by him striking her across the face.

Stunned, Dia already felt red rushing to her cheeks. It stung, but she knew it would get much, much worse. It was too late.

"THEY SAID YOU WERE THE FUCKING LEADER!" he spat, now kicking her in the thigh until she collapsed. "HOW COULD YOU GIVE IT ALL UP LIKE THAT?"

Tears streamed down her eyes as he directed his focus back to her pale, white face. He gripped her collar and his fist collided savagely into her eye. He pulled it back, his headstrong desire fulfilled.

"Do you remember?" he questioned, mistrust tainting his tone. He spoke before Dia could utter a reply. "No, I don't think you do. My father, he always _did _think you were the most capable one. Magnificent, in his words. Funny, isn't it? He never even said that about me— his own son." Jealousy was only part of what coated his words. She could also hear malice, rage, and hurt. "Funny, isn't it, because just a few years later he _told me you quit_! His oh-so trusted member, his reliable follower. The child he wanted but never had." His teeth clenched as he spat out the last seven words, and Dia already anticipated the pain.

"Who is she?" she managed to whisper when his fist rose once more. She truly didn't remember a single thing… her mind felt blank, and the storage to what the man was saying was locked far back from the depths of her soul. He was saying something, something she didn't remember… and for some reason, this brought back memories. Slight, faded ones, but memories nonetheless.

"Who is she?" she said again. "Who are you?"

His face was dipped in a demonic and inhumane aura. "My name is Kurt," he said slowly. Then his arm creaked up and faced her right in the jaw.

"No, please, wait!" she begged, hating how desperate she sounded. "Who is this 'she' you keep mentioning? What leader? Please, tell me…"

"She. She, is Katie. Leader. Leader, is— correct me, _was_— YOU."

Without letting even a moan pass the girl's lips, he fully lashed our at her bruised and beaten eye, not stopping once until it was completely blinded.

xoxo

Jack grunted when Jamie fell down to the ground, desperately dodging the poorly aimed swing. He lifted one booted leg when Jack tried to hack at him, kicking the blade and making Jack plummet across from him. But he was up again as soon as his back hit the floor, running on sheer anger.

Jamie watched fearfully, the same terrified sensation returning. Watching Jack stab and slash at him and endeavor nothing more than his bloody death, he thought he saw himself in Jack's body. It was exactly what he had been doing, after all. Only it felt different in third-person view— not being the red-eyed, vein-headed berserker, but the victim. He switched out of the hot seat and into the death seat, crying out when the rusty farm sabre punctured his thigh.

Then they both fell back, panting hard, Jack only able to view the ceiling and handle of the hoe sticking out of Jamie's leg at an awkward angle.


	12. Nothing Gold Can Stay

A/N: And here's chapter twelve. I'm slightly discouraged by the lack of reviews for the last chapter, and how overrated A Kardian Tale is becoming… oh well. Screw that, I love writing this :D But anyway, in the midst of writing this, I looked at the clock and I was like FUCK!! My piano exam is in TWO HOURS!!! But then I said what the hell and kept writing anyway XDD Oh well, I passed. Yay, seven years enlightment.

Uh, I'm not really talking about the story now, am I? Well, say hello to another big twist, and again I accidentally lengthen the plot tenfold… hey, did anyone notice how the Jamie-Jack murder spree ended the same?

**klutz586, The Scarlet Sky, **thanks gigantically for being my most frequent reviewers. And Louise, even though she is too lazy to review, lol. Hope you like chapter twelve!

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. The title "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is a Robert Frost quote, so credit goes to him!

Her Name In Blood 

Kurt dropped Dia to the ground, panting hard. Her face landed between either sides of his feet and gave a sickening crunch, blood spurting from her right eye and onto the "perfect" grass beneath. Such madness… such violence… such pain… and she'd just endured it all.

"Do you remember now? Have I pounded enough sense into you?" Kurt asked, hovering just millimetres away from her ear. "Or would you like to share Katie's fate?"

_Katie. _Dia remembered Monday's paper all too well. The poor girl, stabbed seventeen times… it was only then she realized: she would be next. Powerless, her chest heaved in short bursts, causing her breath to catch. Kurt seemed to be watching her. He indulged silently in her soft sobs and plucked away the ebony tresses that fell in front of her eyes. "Did you know that you're very beautiful?"

She continued to cry, breathing in the moans that wrought from her throat. How could he say that after he'd just blinded her in one eye? "You're a madman…" she whispered, and before she could expound it she felt a knee jab into her stomach. It sent her flying across the grassy field, her body sprawling into an astral position. Her mouth was mound with dirt and she didn't even bother to spit it out. All she could feel was the sting and blood in her broken eye, the prolonged malady that sent pangs through her half-dead body.

"I see all the time spent hiding has made you fragile, Dia. You can't even defend yourself anymore."

"Hiding? What are you talking about?"

Kurt's eyebrows stitched downward dangerously; again she'd given him the wrong answer. A forced gasp escaped Dia's lips as she felt a strong force pummel into her side, followed by many, many more. A final blow was directed at her face, which already illuminated a distinct glow off the blood dripping from her lips. Kurt pulled her neck into a headlock, and gave her a cutthroat look.

"I see it's eye-for-eye, now," he observed. He brought his finger to her damaged eye and touched it, causing her to scream. Then her hand rose before she could stop it and she slapped him hard across the face. At first he looked surprised, but his expression turned to an amused one. "A slap. After all this, you give me a _slap_. What's happened to you all these years? I thought you'd been hospitalized due to muscle exhaust, or something. But no. I think I realize that… you're just weak."

Something throbbed in Dia's chest, and it wasn't her heart. She'd admit, she did not have as much strength as the average girl her age, nor did she have the brute force of one. But no one had the right to call her _weak_. Not Martha, not Gina, and definitely not Kurt. She knew, and was proud enough to admit, that she had enough willpower to make up for her frailty. _No one _called her weak.

She raised a fist to hit him in the face again, but was stopped midair when Kurt's hand shot out and clamped onto her wrist. He constricted it tightly until her hand turned white, numb, and bloodless.

"Weakling," he hissed again, amusement dripping from the tip of his tongue. "_Fool_."

Dia struggled hard, but to no avail. Finally, heart nearly stopping, she turned and spit him malevolently in the face. The look of utter shock sprang to his face, satisfying her more immensely than it should have.

"That'll be the last thing you ever do!" Kurt roared wincing from side to side so terribly he looked like he was having an awful neck itch. He proceeded to pound her in her right eye again; merely reassessing that it would never work the same again.

"How about this!" Dia managed to sputter through the beating, spitting at him again. Her schwab of saliva stuck disgustingly against his brow, which he wiped quickly and furiously at.

"GIRL! YOU'RE BEGGING FOR YOUR DEATH!" he shouted, slamming at her with so much force that she blasted back. Her wounds seared as she hit the ground once more, her insides feeling molten and incinerated.

_It would all be over soon_, she thought dejectedly, but as if looking on the bright side. Like,_ what does it matter, life sucks anyway._ A notorious saying somehow snuck into the back of her head. _Life's a bitch and then you die._ It was true. All along she knew life was too short in the end. You spent a third of your life sleeping anyway; Alex had told her that…

_Alex. _She dare not think about where or how he was. For all she knew, he could be dead, like she was about to be. But again, it was to be expected; she understood everyone would die; she got it. But it didn't even feel like she was dying at the moment… more like _losing. _

Still, she could not bring herself to die in vain.

"Kiss my ass," she sneered.

She almost smiled as Kurt's face darkened and raised his fist. He'd have the last punch, but she'd have the last laugh.

Closing her eyes blissfully as she waited for pain and suffering to devour her body, time halted for what seemed like an eternity. When skin made no contact with skin and she was released to the ground with a heavenly thud, she blinked.

"What—?"

Green eye succinctly scanning the area, her jaw dropped like an anvil as she stared straight ahead at the body before her. _Kurt was dead. _

"But how?" she whispered, and it was only then she realized the two weren't alone.

**xoxo**

"Snip snip snip, off goes another finger… another stab stab here, and then… oh what the hell."

The blonde-haired girl tossed the bloody knife to the side, sighing boredly as she dropped onto her hands.

Dan lifted his head slowly in disbelief, feeling the effects of the orange gas dissipate slowly. "What the…?" he murmured weakly, unsure of whether or not his voice was coherent. He looked at the little stubs and pegs on his hands that resembled the aftermath of his fingers, still red-wet from the girl's "stab stab here" game.

The girl huffed. "What do you mean, 'what the'?"

"Because…. You… stab-stab…" he murmured groggily, still unable to form complete sentences. His mouth gurgled and his eyes grew heavy-lidded at the unbearable pain in his hands. He tried to faint but the girl propped up his chin, glaring at him up-close.

"You're not dying on me, got that?" she said harshly.

Dan nodded wearily, but rested his chin against the ground anyway. "Why did you stop?" he asked after a full silence.

The girl let the silence continue, however; transfixed at the ceiling as if it were some television screen.

"My name is Gwen, how about you?" she said finally, completely ignoring his question.

Dan shot her an incredulous look, but when she turned to shoot him more daggers he automatically responded. "Dan."

"Oh." She leaned back on her hands, tilting her head. "You know, I'm not as big a sicko as you think. I actually take no pleasure in cuttin' off people's fingers."

He winced, especially when his eye caught the mass of burgundy substance splayed out under the pale sides of his wrists. "Why…?" he asked weakly, remorse panging him hard in the chest.

The girl looked offended. "What do ya mean, why? I've got a life of my own! I have to make money _somehow_, you know?" she sneered. "Look, at least have—"

"I've lost everything."

She looked stricken for the first time, but neither was at a rush to speak first.

"I'm disabled and I can't hold things anymore. My boss is dead, and so is Meryl, so my house and job are out the window." She gave her a weak look when she opened her mouth to interject, but it silenced her sharply nonetheless. She looked down in shame. "Look," he murmured, pointing his head toward the storm raging beyond the perimeter of the house. "Who knows who else is dead out there, too."

Gwen gave him a rough look, but he caught a slight tinge of disgrace in her eyes. "Well, it's not like you could do anything about it!" she retorted shrewdly, earning another thick lull hush in the air. Then she added bitterly, after a pause, "Plus it's not like you're disabled."

Dan gave her a simple glance, her heart nearly shattering at the submissive look in his eyes.

"It's true," she snapped, but her anger simmered down when he gave her the most crestfallen look she'd ever seen. "Don't give me that look…" she said dejectedly. What was this feeling of regret washing over her? "I-I'm serious. You just… you'll only be paralysed waist-under, so you could have a wheelchair, and then all will be—" She was greatly taken aback when Dan cried out.

"Waist-under!" he mirrored, bitter tears rolling down his face. "See! It's never gonna be the same anymore!"

She faltered noticeably. Since when did Gwen _hesitate? _"Well maybe I'll kill you and you'll stop whining!" Her immediate intention was to hush him up, but instead his body started to tremble. His palms pressed flat against the hard floor and he propped himself up, collapsing when his knees stopped functioning. "What are you doing, you fool?" she fired at him incredulously. "Do you _want_ to die?!"

"No, but obviously you want me to, so why don't you go ahead and finish me off while you're at it?" Dan answered icily. He waited for her to dispute twice as angrily but all he saw was hurt in her eyes.

"I don't _like _to kill people," she whispered. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes and her balled fists flew to them and rubbed at them violently. Dan was awestruck. He always thought murderers were cold-hearted and unable to feel sadness for any of their victims, let alone shed tears. Weren't they…?

"Um…" he started, the moment too awkward for words. When she drew closer, he gave her a strange, contorted hug, his back nearly snapping at the misshapen angle it was in.

"I'm serious!!" Gwen hissed angrily. Then her wrath dissipated again, and he found her wailing tears into his arms, unable to believe she'd ever murdered anyone.

He was still at a loss for words. The girl tight in his embrace had just killed his _boss_, dragged his boss's niece's dead _body _off, paralysed him with orange _gas _and sliced off all ten of his _fingers_— yet he felt sympathy for her.

Looking uncertainly at the ground and avoiding eye contact, he felt Gwen hug him back tightly, wondering how he'd gotten himself thrown into this mess to begin with.

"I'm sorry," she finally whispered, all traces of artifice wiped clear off her tongue. "I…"

He didn't want to hear anymore. "It's okay," he said a little more harshly than he intended her, causing her to pull back, hurt.

"Would you like me to tend to your wounds?" she said softly after a small pause.

Dan's eyes lit to hers. Miracles were miracles. "Okay."

But maybe miracles weren't always so bad.

**xoxo**

Blue inhaled deeply, feeling as though his lungs would burst. "…Bob!" he blurted out.

Used to his name, Bob sighed at him. "Yes, Blue."

"I think… that, now that we know we're all gonna die, and the apocalypse has come, th-that, we should do that thing, before we, uh, die, where we tell each other all our secrets," Blue sputtered nervously, fiddling with his fingers. "I, um…" He waited for Bob to tell him he was stupid, but he didn't.

"Alright," he sighed. "You first."

Blue scowled. "Why me first? Why not you?"

"Well, _you _suggested it."

"Fine."

He took another deep breath, this one more relaxed this time. "I, uh… wanted to be a poet when I was little."

Bob grinned hysterically, and Blue never thought a smile could look so reassuring. "You did?" he exclaimed. "Haha! Imagine that…" His voice faded.

"Your turn," Blue piped up, too exuberant to be embarrassed.

"Uh… OK. How about this. When I was little, I wanted to be a…"

"Armyman? Engineer? Blacksmith?" Blue inquired, thinking of all the jobs that required muscles as buff and chunky as his friend's. "Um… construction worker?"

The blush that had appeared on Bob's face was incomparable. "…Veterinarian."

Blue's mouth fell open. "Bob!" he cried in disbelief. Slow laughter bubbled up his throat, and for some reason it cheered him up immensely. "Now I know where your love of animals came from. Hah, wow…"

"Your turn." Bob faced him, looking interested for the first time.

"Ah… hmm… ooh, I've got one." Blue smiled, nice and big. "I'm scared of chickens!"

Bob looked surprised. That explained why he always poignantly refused to feed the darn cluckers…

"Go, go, go!" he pressed on anxiously.

"Uhhh…" Bob droned. He sucked in his lip. "When I was eighteen, I had an afro…"

Blue burst into laughter, but it ended quickly. "Wait, _how old are you_?"

"Uh…"

The two chattering friends were interrupted by a deafening clasp of thunder. If possible, the rain started to pound down against Flower Bud Village harder than ever. A terrifying hole tore through the side of the tool shed, causing both Bob and Blue to jump back, startled. The rip grew wider and wider with each passing hurl of wind-and-rain combination, Blue leaping to cover it. His cheeks reddened as the wind slashed against his naked cheeks, and only when Bob opted to cover the other top of the hole did the sensation die down slightly.

"…Your turn," Bob finally murmured.

Blue smiled tiredly in reply. Already his hands and back that clogged the gargantuan hole began to feel cold and numb. "I…" His shirt flapped a little and ice water seared into his bare flesh. He bit away the scream mounted against his throat. "T.O.," he finally said.

Bob nodded, and he too began to feel polar rainwater tear apart his enthusiasm, bit by bit.

And just as quickly as it came, bliss left misery standing in its beseeching trail.

**xoxo **

**After-read spoilers: **Gwen x Dan!! I thought about it in the midst of writing this scene, and I was like, aww! Why not! So there ya go.


	13. Latent Past

A/N: Alright… this chapter is kind of a filler, explaining what's been going on in _much _previous chapters. You might have to check back to remember, but… eh. The Gina/Alex/Martha/Elvira drabble-y segments were used just to confirm (er, acknowledge) they were still alive. I was hoping I could've explained their situation earlier, but I guess that isn't working, lol. Anyway, you might have questioned the Dia-blood connection in like chapter three but… yeah, I won't spoil it for you. (The html is still fucked).

Thank you hugely The Scarlet Sky, klutz586, and Radioactive X-Naut for continuing to review.

**Warning/Disclaimer: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Cursing.

Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to Seven Second Surgery. Heh heh.

Her Name In Blood 

Jack stood up again, the only noises heard throughout the room being his and Jamie's exiled pants of exhaustion and Cal's frequent whimpers. The poor Terrier was huddled against the wall, too shocked by its master's brutality to intervene. Jamie, however, tried wholeheartedly to end it, but failed… hence the onslaught gashes leaking from his body.

"Jack…" Jamie said, hating the automated plea in his voice. "Please…stop..." The hush and waver in his voice he could not abolish. It clung to the tartness of his tongue, Jamie biting it unintentionally. He wiped at the red substance that had spawned on his bottom lip and then gulped the rest down, eyes intent on Jack's next movement.

Jack merely took another step forward in reply. His hoe was soaked in blood, and only when his eye caught a wisp of white flicker in the air did he lower it for the first time. Silently, a torn blanched cloth fluttered to the ground out of nowhere. He bent down to pick it up, causing Jamie to edge back visibly upon his proximity. He ignored the unpleasant gesture and rubbed two fingers against the anonymous object, identifying it as… an article of clothing?

"It's Alex's."

Jamie nearly winced as Jack looked over at him; he hadn't said a more solid two words since the hacking spree. But then their attention refocused on a sliver of dry red on the cloth, and their eyes followed to Cal, who stared buggishly at them.

"Oh dear god…" Jamie muttered. "You bit the fucking doctor?"

Cal shrank back sheepishly, as if sympathetically. Then something unbelievable happened— Jack collapsed onto his rear, however not out of fatigue. Jamie couldn't distinguish the reason, nor fathom the look on his face…

"I guess I'm as bad as you now, huh?"

Jamie glanced down at the wounds cratered all over his body.

"Presumably," he replied bluntly, in a state devoid of sympathy.

"Well…" His eyes drifted from a stab mark in Jamie's leg and back. "Don't expect me to apologize or anything…"

Jamie glared at him. "Oh, you'd better apologize."

Jack returned the unfriendly gesture. "Or else what?"

"Or else I'll go… shove a cow up your ass," Jamie remarked dryly.

"Nice comeback," Jack shot back snidely.

Jamie tucked a bit of his wet shirt in. "Thank you."

"It sucked."

"Well, you suck more, so I wouldn't be talking."

"Well, you suck _twice _as much as I suck."

"Oh yeah? You do… three times."

"Your use of words intimidates me greatly."

"Same goes for your sarcasm."

"So much for dexterity, hm?"

"Whatever. You still suck more, so you should shut the hell up."

"I thought you had better insults up your sleeve, Jamie."

"I did, but you've cut them all up with that stupid fucking hoe of yours."

The room immediately elapsed in silence, Jamie only half-regretting the buzzkill he'd just produced. A petty fight was almost laughable at the scene that had just occurred. And Jamie felt like he was standing in the midst of a fine line between anger and irony. Jack would say that to him after sticking holes into his fucking body?

"…I'm still not gonna say I'm sorry."

The feeling deepened, this time leaning more to anger.

"Shut the hell up, Jack."

**xoxo**

"Here. I think I patched it up pretty well."

Gwen finished tying the strappy white bandages to Dan's hands, Dan red-faced at how disgusting it probably looked. Then his embarrassment dissipated as his eyes fell open Gwen's apologetic face, realizing she must've seen things ten times as gory before.

"Gwen," he said quietly as she got up to return the first aid kit to his bathroom.

She looked down at him. "What?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did; but go ahead."

He smiled meekly at her, but it quickly dimmed to a distinct frown. "Do you know… how many people have…have…"

His voice droned and disappeared, but that only piqued her. Gwen sat down parallel from him.

"How many people have what?"

Dan inhaled slowly before finishing. "How many have…died so far…?" He caught the alarm on her face and insisted hastily, "Not that I'm accusing you of anything, I-I just, I have a feeling, an ominous feeling, that someone's out there, and they—" He choked on his voice. "—died."

Gwen swivelled a silencing hand. Then she looked him straight in the eye. "Do you really want to know?"

No.

"Yes."

He didn't know if he'd be able to handle the truth, but the sooner he got the memo, the better. Dan was quite new to Flower Bud Village, but he felt already as though all the townspeople were his family… he had to know, or he'd never get over himself wishing he could.

"It started with Katie."

"What?" This caused his head to jerk up. "I don't remember a girl living here named Katie."

"Yeah, well, she was pretty new to the town as well. See, she moved out a while ago… probably before you got here." Gwen blinked in thought. "You read Monday's paper?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Katie."

Dan felt a pang of emotion strike him, and just seconds after it sprouted on his face, Gwen reared up furiously in her defence.

"Stop giving me those stupid looks! I didn't _do _that!" She didn't bother elaborating. _That _clearly meant the stabbing…

Cautious for another breakdown, Dan nodded quickly. "Then who…"

"Hang on! Stop rushing things! I'm still not done telling you everyone who died!" Gwen exclaimed thoughtlessly. Then she shrank back, pupils depleting. "Sorry, I'm not good with… doing… that…"

Dan said nothing, so she continued.

"It all started with Katie, you see. Katie was… associated with us. We have a past with her, and you see, the boss didn't want her giving us away or anything, so we had to…" She pretended her finger was a knife, poking her flesh animatedly.

Dan's brow furrowed. "Associated with you?" he repeated. "I don't get it… who's this 'us' you mentioned? What would Katie give away?"

Gwen merely sighed. "Look, I shouldn't even be telling you this in the first place, so…"

The stockpile of emotion erupted from his insides and seared to his feet in the blink of an eye. He wanted to jump up, but of course, waist-under was still thoroughly… gone.

"I live here: _I have a right to know_. I don't care what you should be doing as long as I do!" Pause. Then, "EVERYONE HERE IS MY FAMILY. I DESERVE THE TRUTH, SO GIVE ME IT." Dan spoke with loud defiance, his voice coming off harder than he'd intended. He almost expected a look of hurt pass on Gwen's face, but only amusement came.

"I was gonna say, 'so don't tell anyone else,' but if you wanna get your butt tied in a prideful knot, be my guest…"

His face reddened and he shrank back quickly. "Uh… go on, forget I said anything…" he muttered, barely heard.

Gwen plastered a sardonic smile on her face, then wiped it off and resumed speaking. "You see, Katie was in our… what's the word… group? Party?"

"Gang," Dan adlibbed listlessly.

Gwen shrugged uncaringly. "Call it what you want; I'm still not very keen on it. Anyway, one day, Katie decided to quit. She… never told us why. She just left Flower Bud Village. She didn't tell anyone, not us, not her closest friends… no one. It took a while to track her, but when we did, our leader, Kurt, well, he killed her. Of course no stupid _reporter_ could find out why. That spawned tabloids, tabloids, tabloids!… along with that 'lightning surrounding town' shit. This may be some fucking horror fiction, but it ain't some fairytale."

Dan faltered slightly, so she picked up the pace.

"Before Katie died though, Kurt used her. You could say killing her wasn't his main intention, but he did it anyway, after first getting… information from her. He promised that if she gave him his information, he would bring her grandfather back to life…" She shook her head. "The girl was on so much medication, under so much stress, she actually believed him."

"What was the information?" Dan asked, getting intrigued.

"It was concerning a certain someone," Gwen replied. "Someone in the village." Her eyebrows arched, as if daring him to question.

"Does this certain someone still live here…?" he ventured, his eyebrows ascending as well as Gwen nodded.

"Her name is Dia. She quit the gang too." A thick wad of documental papers emerged from inside her denim cardigan, which she shoved against Dan's chest. "They say she has amnesia, but bossface doesn't even know." Her eyes narrowed toward the door. "Regardless, chances are she's dead by now. Kurt should've reached her."

Dan bit his lip in remorse, feeling that if he had met Dia, he wished he could've gotten to form some sort of acquaintance with her. "So there's no chance that she may still be alive?"

Gwen came back with a query of her own. "Why do you even care? You don't even know who Dia is."

"But—"

"There's no chance."

Dan felt slightly angered at the lack of hope she bore. "What if she—"

But Gwen interrupted him before he could even go on. Not bothering to even look at him and opening the binding stack of papers to a word-meaty profile, she spun the biography to face Dan, Dia's photo illustration in black.

"Maybe this will help you understand."

**xoxo**

Dia trembled, inching back from Kurt's nose-dived body and looking around frantically. Either there was some madman in the district in hopes of killing her off, or they were there to help her. Somehow, she couldn't shake the feeling that for whatever reason it was, it wasn't a good one.

Kurt's body twitched as he lifted his face from the dirt, causing Dia to jump at the sudden movement. Realization sank in in dismay, and she'd never felt so disappointed and deluded. It almost shocked her that she wished he truly was lifeless.

Because Kurt wasn't dead. He was alive, breathing, and… _angered. _He sprang to his feet and looked around like a bear spying prey, shoulders hunched savagely.

"Show yourself!" he said angrily to the shadows. "Or I'll kill you from where you hide!"

No movement. Absolutely none.

And then a brown-haired man stepped out from the shadows with a dark, jubilant smile playing on his lips, a fishing rod slung over his shoulder

**xoxo**

"Alex… do you know… what time it is?"

Gina stared into the darkness, trying to adjust to it. Nothing worked. It was just so, so… dark. Black. Hollow, even… but far from empty…

A soft snore sounded from beside her. She touched the sleeping doctor's body, almost smiling at how peaceful it all suddenly felt. Then she felt more heartbroken stings and she pulled away, looking distressed.

"If we die in here… I just hope that y-you know… I love you." She gulped in the dank cave air and sucked in her breath. She almost wished Alex was awake to hear her, but… of course, he wasn't…

"I love you," she said again.

And she wished, that one day, he could too.

**xoxo**

"M-Martha? That's your name, isn't it?"

Martha blinked, feeling consciousness overrule her. She sat up, disgruntled, her head feeling as if it were on the other side of gravity. Hand pulled to her sloppy bun, then to the terrible bump on the side of her head, her ear twitched when she heard the voice again.

"Are you dead yet?"

"No," she answered shortly.

"O-oh! I didn't know you were awake, I thought… I…" Elvira's voice trailed off thinly. "How did this happen?" she finally asked.

"I don't know…" Martha's throbbing head lethally demanded some rest, so she laid her head down. No one berated her on her undivided attention; no one could see her.

"I'm gonna go to sleep and forget about everything… okay?"

Elvira and Martha were withdrawing, and neither could hide it.

"I'm going to sleep too."

Neither did try.

**xoxo**

"I see…" Dan said as he finished reading the biography. "She used to be in your gang too, huh? I feel sorry for her, she killed so many people and she doesn't even know it…"

"Tell me about it— and loosen up on your use of words next time, okay?" Gwen flicked at him teasingly, Dan poking her back. Then her face darkened. "It's been some while. She should be getting some memories back, sooner or later."

Dan stiffened at this. "Hey… you still never told me who else…"

"It doesn't matter."

Dan felt aggravated, opting not to push it. "Okay, then at least tell me who isn't dead, but is going to die," he joked tragically.

Gwen saw no humour in this. "Martha, Dia's mother, Alex, and Gina are in Moonlight Cave right now. The dynamite should go off soon, if that answers your question."

His mouth fell open. "The _what_?"

She shrugged. "Well, that's what he said…"

Dan opened his mouth to speak, but his hands suddenly began to pound. Eyes squinting, he winced at the furnace-like burn now engulfing his hands, which were furled half-heartedly into fists.

"Are you okay?!" Gwen said, shoving closer to inspect the bandages for any blood.

"I'm fine," Dan insisted, but the pain continued to scalp him roughly. The moans he couldn't keep in.

"Hang on, I'll go get some more…um…" Gwen nodded in the general direction of the bathroom, rushing off without another word.

Falling against the ground, and hands trembling terribly, Dan realized how lifeless he truly was. No hands, no legs, no companions...

He heard an awesome rip of thunder outside the house and realized, things were becoming just as bad for the other fateful residents of Flower Bud.

**xoxo **

**After-read "spoilers": **Not really a spoiler, but I'd just like to say that the "horror fiction" dialogue from Gwen was not a crappy, entirely overused cliché people tend to write about fictional characters. Am I making sense here? What I mean is, it's not what you think… argh…

Ooh, and sorry if the Kurt-is-still-alive thing seems a bit rushed. I decided five seconds later that Kurt shouldn't have died, let alone so quickly, and just did that.


	14. Tears and their Meanings

A/N: Here is the partially-delayed chapter fourteen. I wrote the starting poem while I was in a particularly depressed mood, but as time progressed I felt the need to write… fluff. (THERE. I used the stupid ff net slang. 'lemon, fluff, citrus, pineapple daiquiri', you know the dumb deal). Anyway, yes, this chapter is dedicated to 'fluff'… well, fluff isn't romantic or… I'm confusing myself and misleading you. I think I'll reassess, **NO FRIGGIN YAOI/YURI PAIRINGS! **You'll know what I'm talking about. Just note, I've never written anything this fluffy before… dammit, there I go with 'fluff' again. I hate that term. Bleh. Okay, stop reading this a/n, I bet your head hurts…

Thank you klutz586, The Scarlet Sky, Radioactive X-Naut and HarvestMoonXOXO for reviewing. Really. This is, sadly, my most favouritest thing I've ever written so it means a lot, lol.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon, however I do own that buttish poem at the beginning. Mild language.

Her Name In Blood

_Decaying cavity fleshed into your heart_

_Strenuous inner cry_

_The stress of time is taunting you_

_As it pulls you to your demise…_

_And as tears pull display_

_And spell upon your skin_

_You draw back with the compulsion_

_That has induced your deadly sin…_

Jamie's anger started to inwardly contort. It bent and snapped and doubled over and formed into something new, something he couldn't pinpoint in the least. Something clear and liquidy spilled down his face and he brought his finger up and touched it. It was wet, sloshy, and… It rolled down against his tongue. Bitter.

Why was he feeling sadness? Melancholy, more like it? What was there to be sad for? A few minutes ago, he was in the state of sovereign, wretching anger. And now…

"Why are you _crying_?"

Jamie didn't answer… he didn't know how to. Jack's voice pelted him in the heart. It was incredulous and contemptuous. Mock. For some reason, it only saddened him further.

"Are you an idiot?" Jack relented mercilessly. "Why would you _cry_, of all things? What are you _thinking_? Are you entirely stupid?"

Jamie brought his head down against his chest, as if surrendering. The tears continued to flow down past his chin and neck, dropping freely onto the front of his shirt like tap water. He blinked a few times, unable to meet eyes with Jack, whom he felt inferior to.

"…complete fool, of all things to do, you choose that…" he continued. Yet his tone had switched from mock to imploring, almost. "You fatheaded dope… idiot…"

For the first time ever, Jamie wasn't offended.

"Why are we doing this?" he finally said.

Jack was taken aback. "Doing what?"

"Fighting. Hurting each other. All this horribleness…"

"_You _start—" Jack stopped mid-sentence, feeling the immaturity on his tongue catch dead. "Jamie…"

"It's awful," he finished tartly. "Look at us, Jack… look around at… everything."

He didn't know why, but he obeyed. Jack turned his head and he nearly bit his lip when he noted for the first time, the utter destruction surrounding him. Blood coated everyone's bodies and fell to the floor. It seeped into his gloves and spread across the tip of his hoe. It traced the wounds pitted against Jamie's body, and down the iron of the axe plunged into Saibara's senile skull. The walls were dented and shelves were overturned and severed. But what fazed him worst of all…

"Tears roll down my face," Jamie said quietly, making Jack look him in the eye. "Because I can't stand it anymore."

Jack didn't know what to do— step forward or step back. So he kept in his position and stood motionlessly.

"I don't want to fight anymore…" Jamie mumbled. "I don't want to…"

But Jack was speechless. His head was clear and palpable, yet he couldn't think at all. All he could do was take in the piteous site of Jamie, tears indeed rolling down his face, and falling onto the wooden floorboards with chiding drips.

"We don't have to do this. So… _why _do we? Why are we such madmen?"

Jack looked down at his hands again, and then at Saibara. Either of them were at fault. They… _were _madmen. They were absolute madmen.

"The remorse I fell is inhumane. One slaughter is all it takes, because as long as I did it, it happened. There's nothing I can do to take back their lives. All I can do is take it away. And now it's gone, and I have no excuse."

For some reason, Jack felt like Jamie was speaking for him. Though he had not taken a single life, he felt like a murderer. The skin wrapped around his neck constricted and he took a deep, shuddering breath. It was only then he realized, he too was crying…

"I wish I could rewrite what I did. I wish I could just apologize and press backspace. But it'll never happen. It can't, and it won't. I've killed someone, and I've killed them intentionally. I'm at fault. I…"

"Shut up, Jamie!" Jack erupted before he could stop himself, but he didn't take it back— nor did he intend to. "You're saying this like you're not sorry. And now I see you, whining like a child, and you _are _sorry. You look like you'd sacrifice your fucking self just to bring that old, useless man back. You look pathetic and weak and I'll tell you straight up, that's not how your average killer is expected to look like. You're the _most _idiotic, you know that? You go and murder someone and you act like it's your best friend or something, when in the end it's some old fart who doesn't even like you and vice versa. So quit acting like you're some cold-blooded, merciless, wild demon who slaughters people on a daily basis. You want to take it back and you clearly want it more than anything, so shut up and stop beating yourself up because that's a bigger 'sorry' than _I _could ever make!"

He realized his choice of words was not very chivalrous, altruistic or especially thoughtful in the least. But the result was the impending matter.

"…Thank you, Jack," Jamie said after a long pause.

Jack inhaled, coming to a conclusion and stepping forward. "Just… stop crying."

And through his tears, bloomed a smile.

**xoxo**

_Pain. I've felt pain so many times before, countless times, many, many times. It was avid, throbbing, mental, physical. I've felt so many different types of pain, but yet… but none like this. It's so different right now. I feel like I'll do anything to take this kind of pain away. And it hurts so, so much… unbelievably much. More than a slap to the face, more than a blow to the stomach. This, it feels like… _fuck

Dan clutched his hand, and though his eyes were clamped shut he could numbly sense Gwen beside him, the only light he felt. The wound in his hand had appeared to sear down all the way to his legs, and nowhere else. It was thrashing at them and slashing at them and _obliterating _them, and he wanted them to be cut off just to end the anguish.

His ear throbbed as Gwen shouted incoherent words to him, and the only response he was liable to do was scream. He wanted to kick and roll over and flail about, but his legs refused. Hellish flames engulfed them, from toe to knee, to thigh to waist… and after what felt like an eternity, everything just stopped.

It stopped, past numb, past stunned. It stopped functioning and it felt completely… dead.

He could hear clearly now; he could hear crystal-clear sobs. He could feel nails digging into the bag of his hand and a palm against his palm.

"A-are you dead?" Gwen said, in a voice so strained it nearly made Dan cringe.

"No, but… Gwen…" Dan began weakly, cut off by a massive embrace. "What happened?"

"I don't know. You were just lying there, and then suddenly you screamed, and something happened with your hand," Gwen said, so quickly it made his head spin. "I went to get medication, a-and I put it on, but then your entire body started trembling and you were cold and sweaty and pale and it was _awful_. And then your hand seemed OK and everything, but then you started _really _shaking up and screaming and I couldn't even hear what you were saying, but then you just suddenly went numb a while ago a-and…"

"How long ago?"

"About ten minutes ago, I'm not sure…"

Dan looked at her, reassuring her that he was okay… as far as okay went.

"Gwen, I think… the gas has finally made its effect…" he told her quietly, in vague explanation to the buzzing occurrence.

Gwen's mouth fell open. "It… did?" He'd never heard such a strong girl speak so decrepitly.

"The pain is gone…" Dan continued slowly. "In fact, everything is gone. I can't even tell… if they're still attached."

Saying this, Gwen burst into frantic tears. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "You have no idea, I just… they're attached, I promise… I'm so sorry. I never think about what I do, I guess that's why I'm so fuckin' stupid, but… I'm just so, so, sorry, and I so mean it more than anything…"

"Gwen…"

She stopped crying almost instantly. "…Yeah?"

"Can you… do me a favour?"

"Of course I can."

"You have… a gun, right? The one you used on Ronald?"

Gwen looked at him. "Yeah."

"Can you… shoot me?"

She visibly cringed. "Dan, stop! Stop thinking like that… I won't kill you." Her words spilled out like a running fountain: endlessly. "You're gonna be okay, and I'll make sure of it. Nothing's gonna happen to you, I won't let it, and I'm so absolutely completely sorry. I'd… Dan…"

The immobilized man turned over slowly.

"Can you do me another favour?"

"W-what?"

"Can you… hold me, one last time?"

Gwen was again taken aback. But she obeyed, putting her arms around Dan's neck tightly but slightly unsurely. When she pulled away a few moments later, Dan was smiling sadly.

"I'll be okay," he assured her.

"Dan…"

"Thank you."

A single tear fell from her eye and onto his bandaged hand.

"You're welcome."

**xoxo**

Alex awoke to something draping itself around his shoulders. He shook it off and blinked to see clearly.

"A-Alex?"

He recognized the voice, speaking unsurely. "Gina?"

"I'm sorry… I didn't know you were awake…"

He tried to adjust to the darkness, dubious as to what he should say.

"I guess we're really stuck down here, huh," he offered darkly.

"We are," Gina agreed listlessly. Then she murmured something he couldn't comprehend.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"…Oh."

Though they were both purblind, they heard each other shifting uncomfortably and awkwardly.

"Do you think this is my fault?" Gina finally asked quietly.

Alex frowned invisibly. "Of course it isn't your fault. What makes you think that?"

"Because…" She took a deep breath. "You know, since we're clearly gonna die in this hellhole, pardon my French, I should tell you the truth."

"What truth?"

A pause. Then, "Alex, I deserted you."

"What?"

"I didn't mean to… I mean, I did, but…" Her voice trailed off meekly. "I was mad, and I didn't know what to do so I just ran away… I'm such a coward…"

"What are you talking about?" he fumbled, perplexedly.

"I suppose now is the time to tell you… I was so jealous."

"What?"

Gina let out a breath, so he took it as a sign to stop interrupting her.

"You see… back at the clinic… sanatorium, whatever you want to call it…I, um. Ever since I got here, I developed a kind of… crush on you."

Alex felt his cheeks tint. A wordless response rose to his throat, but he held it in.

"I've never met anyone like you. You were an intelligent, caring doctor… I don't know what attracted me to you so much. Maybe I'm just the hopeless romantic type in some way, but… you drew me to you. Everything you did, from injecting needles to smiling at me, it all just enthralled me. And you're really cute, so that's a plus," she said in a voice that clearly punctuated a blush.

"As days passed by, the sensation felt stronger. I couldn't fathom it, because, I-I've admittedly never fallen in love before… or had a boyfriend, really… but that's a different story. A while ago, I'd come to the decision that I was… in love. That was the only reply to the flutter in my heart, or the way my body flared at your very contact, or the reason I really stayed at the clinic. But then…" Her voice flickered, signalling a change in tone and mood.

"I, um, you just… I don't know, I always believed the phrase 'feelings mutual'. That was why, whenever you smiled at Dia or helped Dia or even talked to her, really, I started to feel… unsure. Jealous, even. I tried to win you over, but then, it was becoming increasingly obvious that… I'm not the one for you. And I think, even though I hate to admit it, that I'm forced to do it anyway. I'm sorry I'm not the one for you, I'm sorry I can't be the one beside you, and I'm sorry we won't have a future. But I just want you to know that if you and Dia decide to… I'm happy for you."

Alex didn't reply, so she started to feel extremely uncomfortable. "Are you going to say anything?" she finally asked.

"Gina…you're wrong."

She took a sharp intake of breath.

"I don't love Dia. Sure, at times I may feel, what, slightly attracted to her, but as long as I feel attracted to someone else too it doesn't really affect me. What I'm saying is…" He cleared his throat, unable to find the right words. His head was swimming to begin with. "I feel the same way around you, and I want something too. So for lack of better word… I love you. Heh, that was corny."

His awful speech was interrupted by Gina flinging his arms around him, which he returned as well.

"I love you tooooo," she droned into his uninjured shoulder, and he realized she was crying— tears of joy.

"Whatever we do, we'll make it out alive— _we_," Alex assessed presumptuously. "And then… yeah, I'd like a future."

Gina let out an uncontrollable squeal of joy, one that pierced the entire cave. "Do you really mean that?"

"With all my heart."

And as they bodies decayed in the mouth of the cave, their surroundings seemed to dissipate as they both leaned in and shared their first, but definitely not last, kiss.

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **Yeah, no Dia stuff here, for the first time. I just don't think she fits in this chap. Everything is getting harder to write as the plot gets thicker… okay, call this a filler chapter, but you'll see.


	15. What the Fuck?

A/N: Wow, this chapter came much faster than I expected. It was inspired by the storm outside, they're such huge inspirations... Oh, and I either could've been at a party dancing my ass out or at home on the laptop writing this. Hah! I chose this.

Thank you klutz586, The Scarlet Sky, and Radioactive X-Naut for reviewing! I'm only assuming they did, though, lol I got kind of used to writing that. Er... typing. I would reply to you guys, honestly, but... uh... yeah, I don't have a reason, lol.

This chapter is of critical importance to the plot. The end is nearing. And hooray for reaching page 100 in Microsoft Word:)

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon, or Monopoly. Violence, cursing.

And, oh goody, a one-month anniversary. Weee.

Her Name In Blood

Gwen stood uneasily by the side of the room, swaying at her feet. She shot occasional sideways glances at Dan, who stared emotionlessly at the uncarpeted flooring, refusing to return the gesture.

The malicious bubbling incarcerated in her stomach did not quell the anxiety dispersed throughout her body. Her blood puked cherry wave vessels that broke out limb from numb limb, muscle from torn muscle. She blinked away the hollowness without avail. It hurt to see Dan like this… totally deprived of himself, like a reanimation of a formerly dead body. An empty skeleton, with nothing but flesh, bones and blood. A walking corpse…

"I'm sorry," she said hastily. "I'm not good with medicine. I can't… I don't understand the… the…" her voice vanished immediately. "Is there something you'd like to do?"

Dan leaned in and whispered into her ear, making her shoot him a poorly-disguised stare.

"Are you sure?" she asked carefully into the brusque silence. Was his head being messed with?

"Uh-huh," Dan grunted in reply. He did not elaborate.

Gwen nodded slowly at his vague pertinence. "Okay…" she agreed, but remained. "…Which room did you say it was in again?"

"Second room to the right, just down the hall," he replied, again blandness coating his words.

"Ah… 'kay." But still, she stayed.

Dan realized he was prompting her, so he purposely stayed quiet. Never had he felt so broken, literally and figuratively. Never had he felt so disconnected with everything he felt so close to…

"Um… I'm going now," Gwen told him skittishly. She scurried off after throwing another worried glance over her shoulder, as if distrusting him.

But Dan did nothing sly of the sort. He sat like an abandoned puppet, all wrapped up on the ground, looking forward with unfocused, denim scarred eyes. All he needed now was a layer of charred dust, and more pinstripe seams in his arms and legs…

"Dan; I can't find it. Can you come here?" Gwen called from the other side of the building, the insulation muffling her voice slightly.

"I can't," he told her shortly.

"Why… oh. Oh yeah. Um, never mind, I'll go get it myself…" Feet were heard tapping against the wood floor ditzily, and after an eternity, Gwen herself reappeared in the doorway. "I got it…"

She gulped away the teeter of her voice. No, she wouldn't let herself stutter! She wouldn't cry! She would be brave, she would be the leader; she would… help…

"Okay… let's set it up," Dan spoke, rousing her with a jolt.

Gwen redeemed her edgy character and silently put everything into place, requiring a few minutes time. The entire time, Dan stared at the ceiling. When she was finished, she sat across from him slowly.

"Uh, what do you want to be?" she finally said, dodging the holes of hesitation between her teeth.

Dan eyed the selection blandly before answering, "'Headless horseman."

"Dan, um, that's not a headless horseman, it's a regular horseman with a weird… head." She finished hastily when he shot her a corpse-like look. "I'll be the puppy…"

"It's not a puppy. It's a dog."

"Okay, then I'll be a dog," Gwen snapped, patience running low. Her face fell instantly. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…"

Dan sat patiently through a dozen more apologies until finally, she concluded with, "Let's start now."

"Uh huh," he said hollowly as Gwen handed him some dice cubes. He rolled them with a stiff movement of his incomplete hand. "Five." He moved the horseman forward five spaces.

"Moonlight Café, 500G," Gwen said softly.

Dan looked up at her. "You altered it?"

"It's more fun that way, isn't it? Flower Bud Monopoly?" she insisted. "Besides, who the hell names a place 'Kentucky?' Oh, please…" She didn't take back her comment, making Dan's eyes twinkle warily.

"I'll take it." He scooped some money into Gwen's palm, while she plopped it lazily into the 'bank'.

She proceeded to roll the die. "Nine. Yaaaay. One, two, three, nine… Library: 0.2G…"

"0.2G?"

"It's all that piece of shit is worth anyway," Gwen said with a cold shrug. "Anyway, I don't want it. That place is for cracks like Maria." She only hoped the joke wasn't too desperate. _Laugh, laugh, please laugh…_

Dan checked the value card, unsmiling. "But you get 600G every time I land on it," he insisted.

Gwen forced herself to roll her eyes. "Then you go ahead and take it. I'll say it one more time and I won't say it another: I don't want it!"

"Then why'd you write it?"

"Because that's how much it sucks, that's why!"

There was a brief silence, followed by soft chuckling from Dan, which made Gwen melt succulently. "My turn?"

Gwen felt a warm sensation spread over her. "Yeah," she said softly.

A few minutes followed, both utterly silent. As Dan coughed up 200G as he landed on Gwen's residence, he shifted uncomfortably and visibly. He was ignored at first, but at last Gwen looked up from the board game.

"What?" she said, unable to ignore the continual gesture.

"The… dynamite," he said quietly. He looked up when he heard an annoyed sigh.

"How about we focus on the game?" she fumbled. But inwardly, her veins tied themselves in lavender knots. This was supposed to be a distraction, not a temporary lead-on. She was actually trying to guide him _away _from the awful subject. Why had she even told him?

"Gwen, I need to know," he continued, sharpness and finality summed up into his five words. He sat upright, now begging. "Please."

She waved at the air, as if it pestered her. But it pained her more... "No, Dan."

"Gwen!" Dan burst out, but Gwen thought quickly.

"Well, actually, fine then, but that's just 'cause I don't want another hormonal breakdown by you," she said quickly. _Buy time, buy time, buy time…_

He reddened colourfully at the H-word.

"What do you want to know?" Gwen continued, speaking slowly. Right now, her skit was running on sheer improvision.

"Well…" Dan clenched and unclenched his uninjured hand, making Gwen cringe. "When will it go off?"

"U-um…" _Bitch, what did I say about stuttering? _

She thought fast. "According to my watch…" Gwen lifted her arm and bit viciously into her wrist flesh, ignoring the sudden sting. She pretended to scan it. "Ten past bite. Or three past tooth, I can't tell."

"Gwen; seriously."

She dropped both arms, faking exasperation. She only _wished _she could feel exasperated. "Dan, who _cares_?" Her voice crackled effectively. "You're just gonna end up feeling worse." There. She said it.

"I don't think that's possible," he countered quietly and crudely.

Gwen felt stricken for a moment. She hadn't expected a response like that. Was she being… overpowered?

How dare she consider dignity in such a time.

"It should go off in a few hours," she muttered, trying to sound defiant, but failing.

"That's a long time," Dan observed requisitively.

"Yep." She didn't appear to catch the implement in his voice— she pretended not to, at least.

"We can still help them, you know," he pointed out, making the blonde jolt.

"Are you stupid? Hell no!" she snapped as ruefully as she could. For the second time she appeared uncaring as Dan was fazed greatly. "They're gonna be all… nyeh, nyeh, nyeh! And try to kick my ass!"

_Please laugh_, she mentally begged again.

Yet, he merely sighed. "Can we at least try?"

"For the last time, no!" Her heart broke when his shoulders heave, but she relented. "And guilting me won't help either!" she added when Dan looked up at her wistfully.

"There's still time," he pleaded; Gwen knew he was right. "I don't want anyone else to die… come on…"

Her head was becoming less and less dense. She couldn't let Dan out there, in the storm, and she knew it. In his condition, he'd…

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, I can't hear you!" Gwen yelled, plugging her ears chidingly. "LA LA LA LA LA!!!" She continued to holler over his voice.

"But there may be some way—"

"CAN'T HEAR YOU, LA LA LA!"

"If you could just give—"

"LA LA LA…"

"Gwen, stop—"

"LA LA LA LA!!!"

"**_GWEN!!!!_**"

This immediately silenced her.

"Please!" he begged, his voice so short and choppy it sounded more like a staccato gasp.

Gwen studied his face for a moment before looking out at the door. "What the hell do you expect us to do? No offence, but you're pretty much half-dead…" She suppressed a "sorry" when he looked down.

"We could just go over to the cave and try to find some sort of opening, and call to them," Dan suggested.

"Yeah, but how are we going to _get _there?" Gwen shot back.

Resonant neighing sounded from outside.

"Please," Dan stated firmly when Gwen recoiled.

She let a long silence seep through, trying not to take too long to think. _Oh, what do I do? He's stubborn as hell... but I can't let him out... shit, shit shit. _

"Pl—"

"_Fine_, but only if you shut up!" she shouted she could stop herself. She bit her tongue spitefully. Then she whirled around in case she blurted out another word.

"Thank you," Dan said, quietly.

There was no going back now. No feigning could rescue her from her situation. No game could buy anymore time.

She helped Dan up, acting as his crutch as they made their way to the door, but as they touched it she stopped.

"What?" Dan asked.

Gwen took a deep breath before speaking. She stuttered this time, but she didn't care anymore.

"If you die… if _I _die…" Gwen began stoically, hushing Dan instantly. He awaited a long, memorable, heartfelt speech, but Gwen twisted it with ease. "Then I'll kill you!"

"Comforting," he said, grinning.

Her smirk fell.

He was grinning. He was smiling... at _her. _A smile. A lovely, Dan-like smile, just for her. It made her insides sear with bliss. All along, she just wanted that smile... that reclusive, now-elusive smile... the smile that sent ripples from her warmth-nullifying heart. The smile that invoked _her _smile.

It was beautiful.

She draped his arm around her shoulders, trying to suppress a wild grin. Alas they stepped outside, second-hand to the exploding storm right above their heads. It wiped Gwen's half-grin off with a scorching slap as her eyes digested what looked like a black, bottomless abyss. Like an underworld of the overworld. Like a purgatory of infernal destruction...

_Be calm, be calm. Crack a joke. _

"Well?" Gwen said loudly over a crack of thunder, standing amidst the storm as if it were a painting waiting to be critiqued. "What do you think?"

"Uh… it's wet?" Dan stated dumbly.

"The horse, you fool! The horse!"

"Oh." He noticed the animal standing in front of him, but already his cheeks were too numb to allow him to blush. He looked the chestnut-beast up and down. "She's nice…"

It appeared to have worked...

"I had her since I was little. She was always a great horse. I won races with her, too, you know. Her name is… oh." She staged realization; acted as if she was rambling away under violent rainfall. "Right, right, let's get going…"

She pulled Dan onto the horse, sidling him up in front of her and wondering if he'd ever catch what a terrible actor she truly was. When she heard him speak, she looked at him.

"Aren't I supposed to be… _behind _you?" he asked nervously. Not only would he prefer holding _her _waist, but the ever-so-touching position he was in was unnerving. All wrapped around her arms like that…

"You'll fall off, break your neck, gush blood and die," Gwen explained briefly, pleased with her logic and only half-acting. "Okay, hang on tight… never mind, I'll hold on to you tight..." She had a mini-argument with herself.

"Uh… Gwen?"

"Yeah, yeah. Er." She took a split second to consider her next movement. Thoughts spinning madly out of control, she iced all engrossment and pecked him bravely on the cheek before laughing giddily. "Just felt like I needed to do that, just in case, ehehe…"

This time, he had to blush. But it was quickly wiped away as the horse kicked off, time spinning around him.

"And we're off!"

Despite the fact that an incessant hell jeered from all around them, Gwen broke into an unstoppable smile.

She tugged on the horse's mane, and they sped off instantly down the cobblestone, hooves melodic against the wind's primo.

Gwen couldn't feel a thing.

**xoxo**

"Hey," the ever-intrepid Ray greeted with a cool tone, absolutely unfitting in such an atmosphere. "What's up?"

Dia, who was torn between awestruck and amused, sat brokenly and intrigued-eyed at the scene. Kurt, on the other hand, looked incredulous and outraged. A perfect antonym of Dia.

"Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing here?" he cursed.

Ray tapped his chin in mock thought. "I'm just... hangin' out," he replied with a rapturous shrug. "You?"

Kurt made a loud growling sound that made the waves of the Goddess Pond ripple luminously. Dia had to wonder what Kurt would say. She wondered if he'd say anything at all.

He got out a knife, but of course she wasn't surprised. All along she knew Kurt had no possession over a shotgun, or pistol, or spear, nor did he desire any of those lethal weapons. Like the paper said, he wielded a knife. A simple, plain, practical knife that could be used to cut tomatoes in the kitchen, or to cut ropes in a tent.

A knife that could slay so many.

"Hey, don't stab me," Ray interjected, looking offended. "I read Monday's paper. That wasn't very nice." He frowned.

Kurt looked like he would spit something out of his mouth; he was at such a loss for words.

"I swear you could've just gone at her head or heart once, but no, you chose seventeen times here and there and everywhere," Ray continued colloquially, finding no need to address Katie. "Why'd you have to go and do something like—"

"Twenty-two."

"Beg your pardon?"

"It was twenty-two stabs." Kurt's face flipped an instant grin, cold and sleek as the blade of his knife. "And I did get her heart. And her head. And they made lovely, juicy blood dribble all over the place..."

Ray quirked up an eyebrow. "That's just nasty, man," he said, a deep scowl implanted upon his face, making Dia's face stretch. "I mean, when _I _kill people, I make sure not to shed any blood. Like in thrillers. You see some lady in her office, doing some nice, carefree work. Then you hear a _bang_! And her body disappears and she goes to hell." He shrugged. "But I guess that's just my preference. Everyone's choices and opinions are valid."

Kurt downed a heavy glower, but it soon evolved into a queer smirk. "You're a funny one," he stated in a monotone. "I can't wait until I tear that funny little soul out of that funny little body."

Ray frowned, trying to look deeply offended. "Oh, come on. Funny? You know I'm hot. Maria even said so... but then again, I think that's why she went out with me." Another signature shrug from the fisherman. "I guess that's why I killed her."

Dia had never been so confused. What in the world was this man saying? How could he talk so casually to a murderer? How could he talk so casually about _being _a murderer? They came in all sizes, definitely... but this seemed like too much. Nonetheless, she couldn't help but enjoy the shock on Kurt's face.

"Just watch me kill you!" he hissed. Invisibly quick, he veered up to strike him in the gut when Ray casually slung something over his shoulder— and it wasn't a fishing rod.

Kurt stopped in his tracks, but he didn't lower the knife. "Where did you get that gun?"

"Terry let me borrow it," Ray replied. He petted it. "Beauty, ain't she? I'd marry her if I weren't a human being... or am I?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Kurt... you don't know, do you?"

His tone raised. "I don't know what?" he hissed.

"I'm not human, Kurt." Ray erupted into laughter. "Can't you tell? I'm a fish. A freakin' fish. The Harvest Goddess blessed me and brought me into the shape of a human."

Kurt stared incredulously. "What the fuck," he snapped, but Dia knew he believed the man.

What an incredibly stupid pig... anyone could tell Ray was taking this as an opportunity to ready the gun. She looked away instinctively, expecting blood.

Yet none came...

"Hey," Ray intervened Kurt mid-sentence after a few more minutes of playing with his head. "I'm just playin' ya. I'm a people."

Kurt looked completely taken aback. He was about to sputter something when Ray approached him and, to Dia's complete surprise, forced the bulleted shotgun into his hand.

"I know you feel like a fool. Here's a consolation present. My way of saying 'sorry'."

Dia never cussed. She never swore. Yet she couldn't help but think in her head, _What the _**_fuck_**

"Thank you?" Kurt too seemed startled by the stranger's act of kindness.

But there was a catch. "In exchange for such a lovely item..." Ray ran his finger along the barrel of the gun, which he continued to grasp along with Kurt. "You need to tell me something."

"W—what?"

"Something about a girl. I think she works for you." Kurt looked confused, so Ray continued. "I believe her name's Gwen."

Kurt pondered before saying, "Oh yeah, _her_. What do you wanna know about that wench?"

"That wench and I have a score to settle," Ray replied pleasantly. "Do you know where she is? Specifically?"

"She's at Paradise Orchard right now, disposing of the fools who work there, yes..." Kurt eyed the gun acquisitively. "Is that all?"

Ray tilted his head momentarily. "Yeah, it is," he finally said. He released his tight grip on the shotgun, causing Kurt to stumble back greedily. "That was easier than I thought," he told him aloud, smiling widely. He shoved his hands in his bare pockets. "Guess it's time for me to go now. She has something of mine."

Dia and Kurt continued to stare as Ray backhand-waved at them, strolling out of the Pond's perimeter. Dia almost believed Kurt would take the gun and shoot him... and she was completely surprised when he stood shock-still.

Her chest heaved painfully when he turned to face her, a saccharine smile plastered fakely on his face.

_Why didn't I leave while I had the chance? _

Tears streamed down her face as he pointed the gun at her. There was no escape this time. No way out. No way she could dodge, run, hide...

He pulled the trigger. She was hit somewhere— where, she didn't know. And the last thing she heard before blackness ensued was laughter, and the seeping, scarce envision of blood.


	16. Barnyard Hark

A/N: I know what you're thinking. You're thinking exactly what I'm thinking. WHAT THE FUCK. I have no idea how I came up with this chapter so quick o.o Really. But as one of my teachers says, 'quality not quantity'… and this contains neither. I was in a shitty mood while typing this, and it isn't even that long. I guess you could call this guy a filler, too, for the most part. I've gone over it a zillion times, and I can't fix it, dammit x.x Oh well, I hope you like it anyway.

By the way, I found an entirely idiotic mistake. You know how I've been saying 'Gwen's shotgun' so many times? I MEANT HANDGUN -.-

Thankyous The Scarlet Sky, Radioactive X-Naut, and NightimeRoseOX for reviewing. I've noticed several people have favorited/alert'd this and haven't reviewed… well, don't be shy, I don't bite that hard.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Language. Damnation. (Love that word).

-rides off into sunset marrying Rose -

Her Name In Blood

"I've never seen a place look so broken before."

Bob looked over at his thwarted companion, whose back was arched against the wall's hole acutely. He looked fragile enough to snap in half. His dirty jeans were pressed defeatedly against the ground, and his thighs frail as thread as they tried to sustain his contorted body.

In the meantime, Bob stood against the wind, proving himself the giant he was. He was cold. Very cold, in fact— but he was having much less trouble than Blue was.

They'd been guarding against the storm for hell knows how long. The whipping, snapping wind outside and the constant explosions of rain nullified their voices, and invisible hands sprang from the roots of the earth and wrapped themselves around their limbs, disabling any and all movement. They were frozen, and trapped, and decaying with each hit they took.

But finally, Blue managed to speak.

"I've got an idea!" he exclaimed, his voice muffled.

This caused Bob to face him, his brow furrowed, so Blue shouted louder over and over again until he was heard. It felt good to speak. It hurt to speak.

But that was what made it feel good. Pain affirmed life.

"What?" Bob shouted back once his words had reached his ears at last.

"We can move the crates over to block the hole!" Blue explained loudly as his words broke over the thrashing outside, looking stronger by the second. "Maybe we can even stuff Terry's body there! Because _our_ bodies won't be able to take it much longer!" Though he screamed, he could barely hear even himself.

He waited patiently as Bob silently considered.

Bob knew his friend was right, but… did the guy even have the _strength _to get up from his position? He knew his decision had to be quick. Any time now, the tiny building could collapse.

"Alright," Bob finally agreed. He grabbed Blue's arm and counted to three before yanking him out of the gap. Immediately, wind consumed the shed, and it trembled against the earth.

"Quick!" Blue commanded; his voice pitched with hysteria as he hurriedly ran to drag a crate over with every ounce of energy he could hoard. He pushed it sturdily before the hole, but to his dismay nature's wrath too exploited it. Wood flew everywhere brokenly.

"Keep trying," Bob hissed supportively. He took two crates, one in each arm, and stacked them on top of each other. Then they were blown back, but Bob shoved against them frantically.

"Bob, it's not working…" Blue protested weakly, after a few minutes of the losing battle.

"Keep trying," Bob repeated, gathering another two crates and filling the hole with it obscurely.

He looked over and Blue was standing in the middle of the room, looking strung out and burnt out.

"BLUE!" the massive man roared. "HELP ME!"

Without hesitation, he scrambled back to his post and rammed a few more crates against each other.

The act reciprocated, over and over again. Bob's muscles ached and his bones heaved, yet he continually hauled the crates forward and back. There was one thing he needed to do, and he would do it. Not even looking at Blue, he let out an ambiguous, yet hopeful cry as he pushed the last crate into place— but it reduced to a crippling moan when the wind sliced through it. He fought back at it, thrashing and pushing and crying until the pain either numbed or came back, stronger than ever.

Even giants cry. Even heroes cry.

Because in the end, anyone can lose.

The war raged on, and finally, how long later, they didn't know, but after a long time— they looked up.

The wall was stitched with crates, linked five feet in each direction, and creating a fairytale-like archway around the hidden hole. It bulged out of the shed uncharacteristically, and stuck out foolishly at obtuse angles. It gave the two little elbowroom, but they didn't care. They had saved themselves.

"Blue…" Bob said, hoarsely filled with mirth. "We did it."

Blue nodded, adjusting to the new quiet of the room.

"And to think just a while ago we were begging for something to happen."

Again, Blue merely nodded.

"H-hey, Bob…"

"Yeah?"

"Is th-this the end?"

Bob looked stricken. "We just saved ourselves, dumbass, of course this isn't the end."

"We s-saved ourselves?" Blue repeated, blinking. He looked around, his eyes veiled with haziness. "O-oh."

Bob faltered. "Are you okay, shorty?"

Blue nodded, taking no offence to the name that had been given to him. "I-I just couldn't real-realize we were… w-were…"

"What?"

Blue's mouth instantly twisted into one of surprise. "…_Bob, there's something behind you_!!"

He jerked around at lightning pace, bracing himself for something sharp jamming into his back.

But nothing was behind him except empty walls.

"Are you seeing okay?" Bob asked, frowning.

"Yeah…" Blue murmured, as incoherent as he was during the blockade. "I was just a little c-cold… "

"Blue, you're shaking like hell…"

"Of course I am…"

"Are you feeling alright?…"

"Why wouldn't I be…oh, it got warm now."

"Shit. Blue, I think I know what's wrong with you!" Bob reared up instantly.

"Of course you do," Blue answered emotionlessly.

Then he fell to the ground trembling, blue as his name. Bob dashed up to next to him and kneeled down, turning into ice as he made contact with his skin.

Hypothermia.

"Fuck." Bob was now on his knees, panting over his friend incessantly. "Oh my Goddess, please wake up," he begged.

But Blue remained, either dead, sleeping, or both. He stopped shaking, and he seemed to cease breathing. He was entirely pale, and still awfully _blue_.

"I'm gonna go get the phone in the barn," Bob said through bursting breaths, as if Blue could hear him. "Please be okay, please be okay…"

He sprang to his feet and raced out of the shed, half-looking toward the barn and half-looking back.

Even giants cry.

**xoxo**

Dan and Gwen continued toward the Moonlight Cave without hesitation. Gwen's aura seemed to beam exuberantly and pump life into Dan's deadened soul. Her mere gaze almost rejuvenated the permanent diagnosis of the orange gas.

"We're almost there," she commentated after a wicked silent. "…Terrible, isn't it?"

"Is there a reason for this?" Dan asked. "The storm, I mean."

"No, why would there be? As powerful as mankind can pretend to be, we can't change the weather." Gwen smiled a hidden smile. "All we can do is watch."

_Watch… _

One word could trigger so much nostalgia. One word could bring back the bounding image of one forgotten. One word could revive the burning image of one particular man… Ronald.

"Ronald," Dan accidentally voiced aloud.

Gwen scowled. "What did you say?"

"I'll miss the old man," Dan murmured obliviously.

Gwen would've folded her arms if she hadn't been holding onto Dan, and the horse. "…."

She continued to ignore him angrily, but then sadness panged into her heart. She had stripped Dan from all the things he held dear, hadn't she? She really had taken it all away. She was a sick, sick bastard, and she wasn't too prideful to inwardly admit it…

"You know," Dan spoke, "thanks for bringing us to Moonlight Cave, Gwen. I know we can help."

"Yeah, whatever."

Well, maybe she _had _peeled off the strings of his well-being with one hand tied behind her back. Maybe she had made him experience the worst twist he'd ever go through in his life, and maybe nothing would ever be the same for him ever again… but she would make up for it. She'd give it all back. She'd give him something… more. Something _better_.

But before her thoughts reached a completion, before a smile could play on her lips, she was jerked sound by a snap in the distance.

"_Found you_."

**xoxo**

"I guess we should start tidying up…" Jack began quietly, sheepishly looking over his shoulder. But sheepish couldn't even compare to the disgust he felt as he reassessed the destructed scene.

"What does it matter, the storm will obliterate us by the time everything's packed into place," Jamie answered darkly with his eyes to the floor.

Jack shot daggers at the man, unknowing of whether or not he was kidding. Silently, though, they both got up on their feet and started capsizing fallen chairs, straightening obscure dressers, orienting the plain-sight annihilated scene…

"What do we do with all this blood?"

Jack stiffened noticeably.

"Sorry," Jamie apologized hastily, remembering the Golden Retriever that lay disgustingly before them, and the pool of red that squelched under it.

"Is there a mop?" Jack asked carefully.

"Yeah…" Jamie began. He slowly turned away, discomfort settling in. "Uh… I'll go get it…"

"No, I can do it…"

"Oh… ok, uh…"

There was an awkward silence as Jack started to mop up the macrurous blood of his own, murdered animal. Jamie held his breath, half-expecting Jack to go berserk again and clock him over the head with something sharp. But nothing of the sort happened.

The wounds against him were palpably taken for granted up to this point. It was before that they had hurt, but now it truly _stung_. However, not wanted to be portrayed as lazy, Jamie ignored the lacerating sensation, got a mop of his own and wiped the bloodied floors clean, his entire body branding as he did so.

The blundering awkwardness of the atmosphere was as thick as swamp water. Jack coughed a few times, as if to untarnish the calamity. But all it did was get spit all over himself.

"Hey…" Jamie began, the first to openly break the ice.

"Yeah?"

The apology hung in his throat like a grape on a vine. He sucked it in, but for some reason, he couldn't breathe it back out— not in words, at least.

"Never mind."

He continued to clean the burgundy mess, muttering to himself. Sorry didn't mean anything— especially if _he _didn't mean it. Besides, he had his dignity to worry about. It would take some time to earn it back, especially considering… everything that had just ensued.

"You know…" Jack began, making his ears perk.

"What?"

A brief silence. Then, "Never mind."

It appeared Jack didn't believe the phrase "Sorry" either.

**xoxo**

Bitter.

That was, quite possibly, the only word that could describe Martha's emotions at the moment. She was trapped and sealed from the outside world, spellbound under centuries of frayed, ragged rocks. She was cut off from her own vein of existence, bitten off the luscious fruit of life.

And the only other people that knew this were the man that had pushed her and Elvira, whom she still felt awkward around.

The moment the man had driven her off the cave's rocky ledge, not only was she pushed off the ground, but pushed off the face of mankind. The tabloids of her life were wiped clean with a white cloth. The numbers of her longevity, stored in an inner database, were written over with red squiggles. She was gone, and no one cared or knew.

Regret.

Another word that clawed at her insides. There were so many things to regret in life. So many, that at one point, you don't even remember a time at all that you wished you could've undone some threads. But now, as she dangled off the crust of the afterlife, she felt as if she could see all her past faults through the darkness of the cave, like flower petals swirling sparsely in the autumn wind. Only now, they were wilted and crushed against the dirt beneath.

Lost.

What was she to do now? Wait, perhaps? Wait for death to occur? Wait for her very soul to evaporate into the neverending depths of lost moonlight?

Sadness.

No need to elaborate there.

Martha blinked diversely, darkness seeping further into her skull each time. She felt stuffed up and emptied out at the exact same time. All the energy and confidence bottled up in her had been released slowly and secretly, like eclipse stabs in a tire. Not only was she feeling mentally drained, but physically as well. Dehydration lodged itself in her dry, pale skin. The saliva on her tongue tasted like sand, and the pink against the walls of her mouth like tattered iron.

She was absolutely hell-bourne.

…She was dying.

"Elvira," the old woman whispered, her voice raspier than usual.

"Yes," came an automated reply.

"Whatever will become of us?"

"Death." The answer was sullen and direct. It only lowered Martha's spirits.

"I thought so," she answered shortly, her breath diminishing.

As long as she lived, she would die…

So she waited.

Waited for hell to em_bitter_ her.

How ironic...

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **Bear with me, please. I've recently learned about Hypothermia over Wikipedia, considering I am a totally inexperienced author, so some things may seem a bit out of place. Feel free to correct me.


	17. Memoirs of a Loss

A/N: For the first time, I'm gonna start with thanking the people who reviewed or regularly review. Especially chapter sixteen. It made me go… damn XD You guys rock. Up to this point, I guess I really don't care who else decides to review. (Uh, this means nothing. Review, fools :P) Cuz you're worth it enough. Yep, isn't that sweet… in the scary, internet-like way…

Onto author's notes, this chapter was really embarrassing to write. Not only is it annoyingly touchy, but… uh… you'll see. Fillers are becoming harder and harder to write, because in no more than three chapters it's coming to an end. I'm thinking of a sequel… yep… the title will be HIS NAME IN BLOOD. Okay, not funny.

**IMPORTANT NOTE: **_status of stories and chapter completion are displayed on my profile. Hiatus and stuff will be put there too, but I haven't got any of those... yet._

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Language.

Her Name In Blood

Bob tore through the rain, his thick complexion shielding his body from the rain's nephilim like walls. He reached the barn in no time flat, hurling himself inside and making a beeline for the phone the instant his feet touched the ground.

Desperately, he ripped it off its resting place and dialled numbers frantically. Ringing was heard on the other line, and he breathed heavy intervals to ease his angst.

Finally there was a response. "Mineral Town police station, may I help you?" came a woman's voice.

"YES, please!" Bob burst out the instant it was his turn to speak. "Please, I'm calling from Flower Bud Village, I'm in need of doctors and policemen, whatever you got, my friend just passed out and—"

"Flower Bud Village? But there's lightning all around that place, surely you can't be at—"

"YES! I'M AT FLOWER BUD AND IF YOU COULDN'T HEAR ME I JUST SAID MY FRIEND PASSED OUT! HE HAS HYPOTHERMIA, AND IF YOU DON'T BRING YOUR SHIT-ASS COPS AND DOCTORS HERE RIGHT NOW HE'LL BE A DEADMAN! SO WILL YOU HELP ME OR NOT?" Bob bellowed, drawing attention to all the animalistic bystanders of the barn's residence.

Another pause. "Is this a prank call?"

He would've slammed the phone down in sheer frustration if Blue's life weren't hanging on a thread. "No," he said as calmly as he could.

"…Address, please?"

He almost burst out laughing at the entirely reassuring two words. "Blue Sky Ranch, River Song Heights," he tried to say as coherently as possible.

"We'll be on our way."

"Thank you, thank you so…" Bob stopped when he heard an incessant buzzing on the other line. She had hung up.

Not even bothering to be offended, he jammed the phone back against the wall before racing out of the barn and towards the shed. Blue would be okay. Everything would be fine, and medics were on their way. Blue wouldn't die…

And for the first time in a long time, he was assured everything would end all right.

**xoxo**

Martha was in a fit of tedium and hopelessness. Her very aura was diminishing slowly, soft wisps of her blue-white hair slipping from her mega tight bun. She drew her fingers back and touched her face, feeling wrinkles that creased throughout her skin. Old, and useless…

"Hey," Elvira said quietly.

Martha didn't move… she didn't have to. "What?" she managed to say through her coarse inhalation.

"I see something…" There was a short pause. "Under the moonlight."

Martha languidly geared her head towards a sliver of lustrous sterling colour. Soft, milky rays were visible from where she brokenly sat. Though it was light and thin, it caused Martha to squint blindingly as she focused her eyes upon it.

For the first time in a long time, she was intrigued. The light was so distant and foreign to her. It beckoned to her silently, willing her towards its very existence. Martha's mind pulled her to her feet. Slowly, at first. Then she took a shaky step forward, feeling like a baby with her first steps… _a baby. _

Her surroundings seemed to whirl around her, fading from black to bright. There she was, one-year old Martha, wobbling on her small, soft feet. Walking felt new. Her body was light, the air was tranquil, and every existing problem fell back weightlessly. She wanted to cry out, how free she felt…

And then everything was black again, and she fell forward onto her stomach. Something sharp jabbed into her hip, her ankle twisted painfully, and pain shot up her back.

The scene reverted back to its happy surroundings, and like the baby inside her would do, she started to cry. Not bawling and thrashing, but… sobbing to herself. Then, like any young child would do, she waited until the pain diminished as she scrambled back to her feet and excitedly made another attempt to walk again.

Her body disassembled and she found herself back in her previous position, sprawled onto the floor. Brightness dimmed, and her vision smogged once more. The happiness inside her died, and the light-heartedness of her dream world shattered like fragments of crystal swans. She cried again, but this time she wasn't brought back to the favoured setting. Now, she was back in Moonlight Cave, stumbling towards the little light she could barely see. How she yearned to relive the split-second bliss…

Martha limped over to the passing illumination, her tears glistening against the exotic glimmer of light. She reached out and grabbed an opaque object in plain sight reflecting off the moon's ladder. A shifting sound signified Elvira had kneeled down beside her.

"It's a paper," she discerned immediately.

Martha nodded. Mutely, she handed the paper to Elvira, who unfolded it delicately.

"Tuesday, January twenty-seven…" Elvira read aloud, leaning as close as she could to the light. "I think it's a journal entry."

"Read it." It was said this with little order. It was intended as more of a… plea.

Elvira complied. "Tuesday, January twenty seven," she said again.

**xoxo**

"_Hi, Journal. I'm gonna say this to you 'cuz I haven't got anyone else to say it to. Well, just in case anyone finds this, I'll be very vague. Let's just say I've… lost something. _

_Oh come on. Everyone's lost something before, I'm sure! But what I mean is, I've lost SOMEONE… ugh, this is more frustrating than you think. I should just end here. _

_But then again, I've started, so why not finish. I'd just like to first familiarize you with getting things, which is the opposite of losing things. _

_Now, I'm sure everyone is familiar with getting things. In general. Like, for example, you might earn or gain something through a contest, or by chance. You know, now that I think about it, getting things are taken for granted, because you usually get things without realizing it. "Thank you" means nothing. Reciprocating gets you nowhere. Nothing really gets you anywhere anyway. Because, to begin with, you deserved nothing. _

_Of course, always after you get something, you lose it. You let go. "It" doesn't always refer to objects or tangible things, either. An "it" can be a human being, or an animal…or, well, in my case, this… guy I know. He was really close to me, you know. His name is— _

_Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be vague… right. Now, where was I?_

_Letting go does not mean hating someone or killing them, or purposely neglecting them. Letting go can mean forgetting about them, and being unknowing as they slip into the dust, away from your soul and away from your life. _

"_I'm sorry" will not make up for the shit that you did. "Oops" does not erase the fact that you completely fucked up. Pardon my French, I… Goddess, I never asked for this emotional outburst! My thoughts are coming down like a freight train, so I'll continue…_

_No word and no action will replenish the misdeed you brought upon yourself or anyone else. The only real offering you can place is your emotion. Sadness, for example. It eats away at your soul. It detonates heavily in your ribcage. It sends ripples through your sweating skin. You're shedding a part of your well-being and soul to regret your cause, yet it changes nothing. This is a proper apology. _

_But then again, apologies aren't apologies anymore. You're not forgiven. As long as a sorry is nothing, then an "it's okay" is empty as well. Say it all you like, scream it all you want. It changes nothing. As much as you think it does, and as much as you want to pretend it does… GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT. IT DOESN'T. _

_Now, I'm getting sick of writing, and my wrist hurts. I'll only say it once— twice, actually: DON'T LET GO. NEVER LET GO… oh, sorry. If there's a little smudge on the 'don't'… I accidentally started crying again. _

_I think I'll end it here. There's no point in going on; no one else is gonna read it anyway. At least, they better not…! _

…_sigh. I hate being depressed. I hate crying. I hate everything. Why does emotion exist? What's the point of getting things?! You'll only lose it all, dammit! What's the point of meeting people if you're just gonna lose them? Whether it's your fault or not, they'll be gone at one point in your life! NO ONE STICKS BY YOU FOEEVER!_

…_So what the fuck's the point…? _

_It hurts, but I think writing this has actually made me feel a bit better. You may not realize it at first, but so many people are slipping away from you with each passing second. _

_I'm truly sick of it. I'm sure everyone else is, too… _

…_But then, so go get up and find them, whoever the shit "they" are! You know what, I just read everything over, and I sound pathetic! Because I promise never to lose anyone again! Once they leave, they don't come back!!! _

_Alright, I'm not gonna lie to myself. I'm never gonna see him again and we'll never find each other from this day forth. WHY THE FUCK DID I LOSE HIM?! HOW COULD I LET HIM SLIP AWAY LIKE THAT? R—_

_I'm sorry… just… my dad just came in and yelled at me. I tried to hide you, but I ended up ripping off a bit of the page. It's the next day, so I don't feel the same awful emotions as strongly. Well, I'm slightly shocked as I reread the words I wrote… I'm gonna go hide you in Moonlight Cave now, okay? I'll put you between the two rocks we always played on, along with the locket, so no one will ever read this…_

_But before I go, I'd like to thank you for letting me confide you with all this. I know it's lame, thanking a piece of paper… but… who knows what else I can lose? So close, so far away… hopefully one day, I'll be beside him again." _

**xoxo**

Martha was speechless. She let the words sink in, not requiring a second run. "Who…" she began, with no intention to finish.

Elvira seemed to realize this. "Wait," she whispered after a small pause. "There's a— name at the end of this…"

"…Whose name?"

She almost expected her to say "Dia." But instead, she heard the faintest murmur escape the mother's lips.

"…_Love, Gwen_."

**xoxo**

The next thing she knew, Gwen was thrown off the horse at breakneck speed. She tumbled onto the dirt, but luckily, was unharmed. The brunette beast, however, seemed as if it had intended to eject just her— Dan remained straddled against it clumsily. He grabbed its mane in attempt to slow it as it started to flail madly.

"Dan!!" Gwen gasped. She was interrupted by an opposing voice; the voice of the one who had emerged from the rain.

"_Look at me_!"

Almost instantly, her head jerked— and she felt as if a dart had just been injected into her neck. Her eyes flashed with shock and she would've stumbled back if she wasn't already splayed out on the soaking ground.

Two, worn feet approached her, and she was too paralysed to react. Dan and her manic horse seemed to fade in the background, along with the gust and rain.

"You…" she tried to squeak, the words catching in her throat. She held her breath on instinct, as if the air surrounding her were filled with venom.

"Do you have it?"

"What…"

"Answer me, Gwen. You know what I'm talking about."

Her eyes welled with tears that she gripped with all her might. "No…I…"

A bloodcurling neigh demurred them as a blinding flash of light seared into the horse's eyes. It thrashed about for a moment, nearly clashing hooves with Gwen's face. Shrill screams escaped it once more, snapping into the air before taking off into the distance, Dan bobbing on its back and shrieking.

**xoxo**

"…and he's like, oh shit! A talking muffin!" Jack rambled on, desperate to prevent anymore awkward silences. Right now he was cracking senseless jokes to the ever-so-cynical Jamie, who stood with his hands in his pockets, glaring at the floor.

"That… was even worse… than the one before it…" He took a deep breath, as if cleansing his body of pun-o-logical idiocy.

An earsplitting crash sounded outside, perking up the two men. They dashed for the door and ripped it open at the exact same time, eyes widening when a great horse meandered their way. Someone was on its back, swinging wildly at a dangerous pace.

"We have to stop that horse!" Jack ordered.

Jamie scowled at him. "We'll get ourselves killed, you idiot!"

"Then that makes it all the more fun!" He jabbed Jamie painfully in the chest, making him shriek and punch him back in the arm.

"HEY! I didn't even hit you hard!"

"Don't touch me, and nothing ever would've happened then!"

"You're the one who punched me!"

"You're the one who elbowed me!"

A great force suddenly charged towards the two farmers. They leapt out of the way as the horse rammed into the side of the house, bricks falling beneath it. It neighed powerfully before sprinting headstrong towards Jack and Jamie.

"On three, jump!" Jack said seriously.

Jamie's eyes grew wide. "Fuck no!" he hissed.

But they had no choice. As the animal drew nearer, they both clambered into the air— landing primly on the back of the maniacal beast.

**xoxo**

Gwen would've bolted after them if she hadn't been taken by the arm.

"DO YOU HAVE IT?" the voice continued to demand, growing louder with each repetition.

"Do I have what!" she cried out, tears painstakingly flowing out of her eyes, unable to decide which path to follow.

A thick silence hung in the air, and finally the coil on her wrist was snatched away. She looked up, breaking when she was met with Ray's depleting eyes.

"The locket, Gwen. Do you have the locket?"

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **See? That's why it was embarrassing. That journal entry was actually scrapped off my own journal… of course I altered it though, haha. Short, I know, but oh well.

Oh, and no news on Dia yet. I enjoy torturing you, The Scarlet Sky :D


	18. All Over Again

A/N: Wee, a fast update. This chapter is deemed NOT-A-FILLER! That's a first, isn't it? Well, it features only two characters, and reveals the past behind Gwen, Ray, and the locket. Sorry about the html spaz. They mark _flashback. _Not much to say in this note… uh… so yeah.

Thank you klutz586, Radioactive X-Naut, and The Scarlet Sky for reviewing. GO YOU GUYS. Seriously.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. A bit of a touchy subject, if you know what I mean…

Her Name In Blood

Gwen was stricken. She froze on her feet, nearly falling over due to the lack of support her body offered against the weighing torrent of wind. So many questions blared through her head but couldn't come out from her mouth. Her muscles twitched, and, as if she too had been injected with orange gas, she could barely move.

Ray didn't appear frozen, but he wasn't necessarily jumping around. He pushed on the soles of his feet, his face full of hurt, warding Gwen's to the ground.

Her lip trembled for a moment, but she sucked in the dry tears. _Why? How did he get here? _The words simply could not be spoken.

Gwen's body continued to resist any form of movement, apart from the tears dispelled down her cheeks. Her bones crushed into dust, her blood exploded into mist, and her skin barrelled into the nothingness of above. Finally she spilled onto her knees, pale as winter's snowiest descent.

"Where is the locket?" Ray asked, more gently this time. When no reply came, he bent down until he was Gwen's length. "Did you lose it?"

"No. N-no, I…" She shook away her voice's stagger and continued without further hesitation. "I would never lose it."

Ray appeared unmoved. Not even shifting, he said, "Then where is it?"

**xoxo**

"_Gwen… Gwen!" _

_Gwen itched at her ear dismissively at the sound of her name being heard in the distance. Was she hearing voices? Going loopy? Whatever it was, it was beginning to annoy her. She itched at it again. _

_Just as she was about to slide off the rock, in irritancy that she had been stood up, she heard it again._

"_Hey…! Turn around!" _

_Instinctively, her head jerked up, a sigh escaping her lips as the boy she had waited for jogged up the trail. _

"_It took you long enough!" she snapped before he could give her an excuse. She whirled around, arms folded, just to guilt him further. _

"_I'm sorry, Gwen!" the boy babbled, falling listlessly into her trap. "I didn't mean to be late. I was down at Sunny Lake, fishing, and I lost track of time. It isn't my fault… really!" he added when she continued to dismiss his voice coldly. _

"_Then," she veered loudly, "whose fault is it?" _

_Rabbit punch. He faltered sheepishly. "Mine. Sorry. I really am." _

"_Whatever."_

"_Do you want me to make it up to you or something…?" _

"_Yeah. Go jump in a lake."_

_Despite her harsh words, she was unable to be annoyed for a second longer. She dropped her arms to her sides and sighed again. The sigh quickly eloped into laughter, which was immediately synchronized. _

"_Do it again and I'll cut your throat!" Gwen snapped through the chortling amusement immediately. _

_He let out a feeble half-laugh, disguising it as a cough when she glared his way. Finally, the two seated themselves on the rocks, gazing at the gorgeous view of the setting sun before them. _

"…_Hey," Gwen piped up into the dawning silence, moments later. "What's that?" _

"_What's what?" _

_She pointed. "That lump in your pocket." _

_In reality, she wouldn't have cared. Feigningly, she wouldn't have cared either, but after a few suspicious looks, it had grown increasingly obvious that the boy had been deliberately trying to draw her attention to it. _

"_What…? Oh, that!" he exclaimed, disguising his act so terribly it almost made Gwen cringe. "You see, I was fishing—" _

"_That's new," she interrupted dryly. _

_He didn't catch the sarcasm and continued quickly. "And then I felt something on the line! So I tugged and pulled and tugged and then…" He whisked out the anonymous object in his pocket, Shopping-Channel style. "Lookie!" _

_Gwen raised her eyebrows, her interest actually piqued. Ignoring his choice of slang, she leaned in to scan it. "What is it…?" _

_He pointed to the oddly miscoloured blob in his now open palm. "It's a locket, silly!" he explained cheerfully. "I used the coral and this lump of gold I found in the mines the other day, and I tried to smith it together…" _

"_You? Blacksmithery? I can't see that working out," Gwen said with a snide sneer. _

_He seemed upset by this. "You don't… like it?" he questioned, his grin drooping slightly. _

_Gwen fazed visibly. "You mean it's…" She paused before finishing. "…for me?" _

_Somehow, this cheered the boy up immensely. "Of course it's for you." He shoved the deformed locket into her fist, and she didn't know why, but she didn't struggle against it. "Treasure it forever. Take it as a sign of our…" _

_His voice trailed off. _

"_Friendship," Gwen adlibbed without really meaning to. _

_They looked up at each other in embarrassment, catching gazes at the exact same time. Finally they both laughed. Though Gwen sounded more sheepish than joyful, the laugh was genuine. _

_As was the friendship, with no lie to that. _

**xoxo**

Gwen felt stoniness pang into her mentally. A train of affliction stationed against her sullenly, making her sink even more.

"I hid it…" Her voice was barely above a strangled whisper. But when she attempted to continue, Ray stopped her.

"Where did you hide it?" he questioned, the expression unfathomable.

Gwen faltered, unsure of whether to answer. When Ray pushed a look, she blurted out, "Sunny Lake. The— at the edge of Sunny Lake. The cliff, at the end, in th-the…"

Ray stood up abruptly. "That's all I need to know," he said with a nod, melded with both bitterness and sympathy.

**xoxo**

"_Ray! Ray, come here!!" Gwen said frantically as she peered out from behind a tree. _

_Ray, who was, surprise-surprise, fishing, turned around. "Why are you hiding behind a tree?" he fumbled awkwardly, reeling in his line. _

"_Just come," Gwen said impatiently, pulling him into a secluded corner as he did as he was told. "Look." _

"_What is it?" _

_Ray's eyes grow wide as a small, black, sleek object was presented to him. Its features were unmistakable— it was a handgun. _

"_Where did you get that?!" he exclaimed. _

"_Shush!" Gwen hissed. She lowered her voice. "I was looking through my dad's stuff. Isn't it fantastic?" _

_Ray looked horrified. "Gwen, you have to put it back. That thing is dangerous." _

"_Oh, pscha," she snorted indignantly. "Come on. You know you wanna try it out." _

"_I know I don't. Gwen, we shouldn't…" _

"_Look, I already loaded it too. So it'll be simple and easy!" _

"_Gwen…" _

"_Oh, don't be such a pest, Ray!" Gwen yelled when he relented, silencing him immediately. She saw the hurt on his face, but instead of apologizing she opted to follow the unwritten latter— roll her eyes. "Just once. Come on. You can watch me do it." _

"_I don't want anything to do with this," Ray said stubbornly. "Put it back, Gwen. Seriously." _

_He was getting annoying now. "Oh, shut up," she snapped. _

_Ray couldn't take it anymore. He stepped up and tried to grab the gun. "Give it, Gwen." _

_She tugged back. "Back off!" she shouted. _

_The commotion soon roused the townspeople, who gathered before the tree suspiciously. Ray's mother's voice was somehow heard among it. _

"_Are you alright, honey?" _

"_Mother?" Ray said, as if he'd never heard the sound of her voice before. He perked up. "Yes, I'm fine, but—" His head geared instinctively towards Gwen. _

"_You wouldn't," she hissed. _

"_If I have to, I will," Ray said, in a dark tone she'd never heard him speak in before. _

_Just as he stood up to spill her secret, something unintentional happened. Gwen's finger slipped, and she clenched it in anger— she honestly didn't know it was right on the trigger— she honestly didn't know. Before she knew it, a horrible bang sounded, followed by an impacted explosion, then bloodshed, then screams of terror. Then the absolutely horrified look on Ray's face that sent nausea to her throat. _

**xoxo**

"What are you gonna do with it?" Gwen asked quietly.

"I'm going to do what should be done," Ray answered stonily.

Coincidentally, their gazes met. But instead of laughing out of awkward embarrassment, all that came were tears.

"I didn't mean to," Gwen whispered.

**xoxo**

_Gwen ran after him the instant she saw Ray heading up the mountain path. She cornered him once he was trapped on the hovering peak. _

"_Look, Ray—" she began, but Ray ignored her existence and tried to dodge her. _

"_Listen to me!" she snapped, but her voice broke against the hurt they both felt. "I didn't… mean to…" _

"_Don't talk to me," Ray recoiled heartlessly, snapping away from her mere touch. "Get away from me." _

_At this, she wanted to cry out. "Please, Ray…" _

"_Please what? 'I'm sorry' isn't going to take anything back, Gwen." He slithered out of her reach again. "GET AWAY!" _

_She snapped back when he shouted, but she soon held him at bay once more as her voice level raised as well._

"_I DIDN'T MEAN TO!" she screamed, but her tone was all wrong. Tears leaked from her eyes. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO, RAY, I REALLY DIDN'T!" _

"_That's what you say." All emotion, except anger, was heard. "But you shot her, Gwen. You shot my mother. You can't take that back." _

_A pang of guilt struck her, sucking away all traces of enragement. Gwen's sob was heard along her words. "But I didn't mean to," she whispered as he pivoted. _

"_It doesn't matter, Gwen." His voice echoed along her ears. "Because she's dead." _

_He started to walk away, so she leapt to her feet. _

"_You're leaving me?" she screamed. _

_Ray said nothing. He just kept walking. _

_This drove Gwen over the edge. She lashed out and threw the locket against the rocks, screaming wordlessly into the lulled sky. Ray ignored her shrieks, stuffing his hands in his pockets and continuing down the trail until he disappeared from sight, and from her life. _

"_No…" Gwen tried to push the image of his shrinking figure out of sight. She dove for the broken locket; the frayed treasure, gasping when the secret compartment inside clicked open. _

_The words "GWEN & RAY FRENDS 4EVER" were engraved into the coral messily, no doubt in Ray's carving. A little piece of paper slipped out from beneath it and she snatched it before a millisecond could occur. _

_Her hand and eyes trembled as she read the note. "Never let go." _

_Her eyes flickered momentarily into the fading setting, where Ray had just stood so firmly. "I let go," she whispered. _

_Then she stared at the locket, with a crack upon it as deep as the one in her heart. _

"_I'm sorry."_

**xoxo**

Ray started off, but it was only after he'd gone quite a ways until Gwen called out to him.

"You're leaving me?" she cried, shriller than intended. Her high-pitched voice penetrated the air, and for a moment, even through the murkiness of his heart…

Ray stopped at the sound of her voice. He turned and walked back to her, sticking his hand in his pocket when they were in reaching distance again. A small, blurred object appeared, and he hurled it to her knees. She grabbed it with glossy eyes.

And right when she looked back up, he was gone.

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **Yes, Gwen lied when she said the locket was at Sunny Lake. The journal entry said it was at Moonlight Cave… remember? lol sorry, confusing much…


	19. The Element of Surprise

A/N: I have no idea where this sudden inspiration came from, but… here's the not-delayed chapter nineteen! Today was so busy, but I managed to write this while NOT doing my homework :) This may be the second last… or third last… chapter. Wow. I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I whipped up something as gross as this in, like, a month. Now topping over 44,000 words is the second longest thing I've ever written! O.O

I know I didn't give you much time AT ALL to review, but thank you The Scarlet Sky and klutz586 for doing so. SHOUTOUTS GO TO RADIOACTIVE X-NAUT FOR 50TH REVIEW 3

Heh… I can't believe I'm writing about dynamite o.o And I just recently found out the difference between thunder and lightning. I mean, I knew firsthand that thunder didn't zap you to death, but it doesn't flash either… woahh… thank you, Wiki.

Third last P.P.S., I promise. But I hope you guys aren't getting annoyed by my use of Italian musical terms, like crescendo or dimuendo. I love them to death.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Mild language… slight gore.

By the way, The Scarlet Sky: you finally get to see if Dia lives or dies. Mwahaha….

Her Name In Blood

_Tick… tick… tick… _

Martha was positive she could hear the distant resounding noises. Ears perked, she searched the darkness, intent for more incessant ticking. It quickly came her way, spiralling musically through the abyss.

_Tick… tick… tick… _

No doubt it was there. She got to her feet before shooting Elvira a knowing glance from under the moonlight. Elvira nodded in reply and they set off to find the sound's bearer.

_Tick… tick… tick-tick-tick. _

It was starting to speed up. But what was 'it'? What could possibly be in the cave with them? Or… who? They trailed towards the general direction of the ticking's origination. Finally something opaque caught their eye.

"Look," Elvira breathed, sparking the old woman's attention immediately. She pointed, though her arm was unseen. "There's something there."

"Some_thing_?" Martha questioned, putting extra emphasis on the last syllable.

"Yeah." She released her grip on Martha's arm and started taking slow, whole steps forward, Martha trailing behind her carefully. They seemed to fade away with each passing advancement…

"I see it," Martha noted when she drew closer.

She bent down and identified an unpronounceable, circular object. Running her fingers along its bumpy turns, she halted when she felt something gritty and twisting. Snake-like.

"Elvira; this is a wire," she whispered, her voice kept intentionally low. She started to panic. "Why is there a wire here? Who would put it here?" Her heart began beating at twice its andante; why hadn't they noticed it before?

"Pass it to me," Elvira ordered softly. She took more wide, careful sweeps as she weaved back to the only visible light. The instant Martha appeared by her side, she held the object under the sparkling glow. They both gasped simultaneously when its properties came into view.

"Numbers," Martha croaked, when the woman was found unable to speak. She squinted and blinked a few times, but to no avail. "What do the numbers say?"

Elvira let a small silence creep in before replying. "Twenty-one," she finally answered decrepitly. "…Minutes."

"You don't really think…?"

"Yes. Yes, it is. It's… dynamite." She inhaled sharply, and after a long pause Martha thought she'd never exhale. When she finally did, she voiced the infamous punch line: "Now what do we do?"

Martha felt something rise in her abdomen, sending dazzling rays of life throughout her body. She had a punch line of her own.

"We escape."

She'd never said a more confident two words. But there was always an error.

She waited silently for Elvira to remark or shriek, or even let out a strangled gasp. But what came was far more unexpected: _laughter. _High, amused laughter sprang from her lips and echoed against the shoddy cave corridors. They filled the murky air and silenced the silence.

"…You're kidding, right?" she ended quickly.

Martha's smile was punched off. Disappointment was as unexpected as surprise. She shook her head violently, again, unseen. "It's the only thing we _can _do."

Elvira laughed again, but this time it came out as a nervous, you-are-deranged, ladylike giggle. "Martha, please, you're being unrealistic," she finally said sharply, slicing through her courage like a knife.

"Maybe I am. But if it takes unrealism to get out of this place, then unrealism it'll take," she concluded boldly. _Twenty-one minutes. _She had to hurry.

"Now, I'm going to find some opening and crawl out of here. Are you with me… " she hesitated, "…or not?"

Elvira was silent again. Finally, a breath fluttered out of her mouth. Her voice was hollow and almost derisive. Martha was almost certain she'd agree…

"I am not."

Disappointment attacked her. "Why?" she asked, so quietly the sadness spiking her tone was barely coherent. "Don't you want to survive?"

A small crack was heard amidst the ticking and their conversation, but it was ignored.

Elvira appeared taken aback by her query, but she shook it off with a dismal frown. "Martha, it's not worth it."

She lashed out before she could stop herself. "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?" the demon inside her screamed. She panted as her voice died into the mineral of the rocks, listening to Elvira breathing heavily.

"It's easier said than done," Elvira said after she had allowed Martha some brief time to calm herself. She lowered her head. "And nothing can be done."

But before Martha could fire back, though, an earthly rip seared from beneath them.

"What—"

She couldn't finish her sentence. A destructive snap sounded.

Two enormous chunks of land suddenly sprang apart, leaving nothing but a jagged opening. The swirling underground mouth devoured the two women, and for the second time, only two audible things were heard: the spewing of rocks and the screaming for life.

**xoxo**

"Woah!!"

Jamie struggled to keep his balance on the horse's slippery back. The rain had lubricated it further and the wind was fighting against him; also, seeing as Jamie was at the far end of three, he was having the most difficulty trying to hold on.

As he clenched his knuckles so tightly against the only support he could seize, being either sides of Jack's tearing overalls, his eye sockets peeling red, he caught the slightest glimpse of the other man on the horse. He didn't look familiar, even through the inclement weather.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Though the ride was bumpy, uncomfortable, and whirring, Jack's voice was heard clearly as it doubled in volume.

"LET GO, YOU LOSER!!" He tried to back-elbow Jamie from his Oreo-cream position, but Jamie dodged hastily.

"I haven't got anything else to hold onto!" he snapped, his knuckles whitening. "So shut the hell up or I'll bring you down with me!"

This silenced Jack.

"Where are we going?" the two farmers screeched in unison.

The man at the head of the horse paid them no heed, however. His eyes were clamped shut, and his entire body was still— especially his legs. Gibberish murmurs were heard escaping his lips.

"Hey!!" Jack yelled, prodding the stranger hard in his side to rouse him from his bubble of entrancement. "This is no time to be praying!"

The horse veered a sharp left, a scintillating flash of lightning indicating their location: the mountain trail.

"Oh, look! The bridge is coming up!" Jack seemed exuberant and bubbly compared to Jamie, whose eyes were fixated upon the distance in shock and bewilderment. Jack seemed entirely amused. "This is going to be so much fun!"

"Fucking idiot!" Jamie hissed as they neared the destination. "THERE IS NO BRIDGE!"

Everyone— the man at the front of the horse included— let out a bloodcurling scream as the horse took a mighty jump, hooves clicking as they sprang from the ground and above the gap like an iridescent rainbow.

They landed on the other side with a _crunch_, and Jamie squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to know where the sickening sound effect had come from. Another abrupt turn roused a scream from his insides, causing Jack to turn around and give him a funny look. "I think Jamie wet himself," he stage-whispered. Jamie glared at him.

"Hey, look," Jack commentated brightly. "We're heading for the Goddess Spring. I used to go there to pick flowers. It's really nice there. One time, I even met this cute weasel there, and named him Ferret. He died the next—"

Another piercing scream interrupted him as the horse took another wild leap over a fallen tree trunk. Another lightning bolt appeared, causing Jamie to yell out.

"We're not going to the Goddess Spring! We're going the wrong way!" he shrieked, as if someone could help.

Jack seemed much less alarmed. "Well, you know my motto," he said, a little _too _casually.

Jamie glared at him violently. "Stop, drop and die?" he sneered.

"No." He wiggled a little. "On three, jump!"

"NO!!" Jamie bellowed, remembering how they had gotten on the horse in the first place.

The dark-skinned stranger spoke for the first time. "I can't jump," he said quietly, making Jack and Jamie face him with puzzled faces.

"Can't jump? Why n…"

A large hole was nearing. It looked as if it were manmade, connected to the heart of Moonlight Cave. Upon closer inspection… it _was_.

"Don't worry," Jack spoke hastily, "just brace yourself on my command. One…"

"I'll kick your ass once we die," Jamie said through gritted teeth.

Jack grinned. "Two…"

The horse gave off a violent neigh.

"_THREE_!"

**xoxo**

_No_.

Gwen was at an entire loss. Never before had she felt so… confused. She eyed the silver object in her hands, and nothing else. _How?_ After all this mess, after everything they'd gone through… had Ray actually _done _it? Was this living proof?

She stored it in her pocket, knowing now was no time to ponder. Her horse had run off with Dan— disabled Dan! If he was injured in any form or way, she would never forgive herself. She'd already lost enough to begin with.

"I'm coming, Dan," she whispered into the relentless rainfall.

But the horse was gone from view, as was Dan. The only thing she had sight of was everything crashing down from all around her, and buildings bowling to the ground.

Gwen was strong, though. She'd been told by many people— her mother, her father; Ray. She wouldn't give up. Letting out a determined cry, she broke into a run, arms swinging as her feet led her up the mountain trail, not stopping until she came to a clearing by the rushing waterfall. She jogged up to the area where the bridge had once been, stopping when she took the awful sight in.

Destruction.

_No. _

Nothing could stop her.

She backed up a few steps before exploding into a rapid run, flinging herself across the hole with all her might.

**xoxo**

"_How…?!_"

Ray smiled as he paced himself back to the Goddess Spring, entering with a joyful lean in his walk. He knelt down beside the fallen Kurt, twiddling a flower stem in his hands to entertain himself.

"I thought you left!" Kurt hissed, his words slurred through blood.

"I didn't leave. Why would I leave?" Ray feigned hurt. "I ducked behind a tree, you big dummy. Of course you didn't even _notice_. Peh."

Kurt looked between insulted and awestruck. "A tree? Why the hell were you behind a tree?!"

Ray chuckled, memories flooding to him.

"_Ray! Ray, come here!!" Gwen said frantically as she peered out from behind a tree. _

_Ray, who was, surprise-surprise, fishing, turned around. "Why are you hiding behind a tree?" he fumbled awkwardly, reeling in his line. _

"_Just come," Gwen said impatiently, pulling him into a secluded corner as he did as he was told. "Look." _

"What's so funny?"

"Noth…" He paused, mid-sentence. "Everything. Life. Existence is funny, Kurt." He laid back on the grass, not seeming to care that the blood would stain. "Don't you think it's weird?"

"What's weird?" Kurt demanded.

Again, he chuckled softly. "I said it before, Kurt. Life. Life is weird."

"You said life was funny, not weird."

"What's the difference?" He seemed to relax in the conversation with the dying man. "You know, when I was a kid, I always thought life would be easy. I had a hobby, you know: fishing. I've always loved fishing. I still do, even."

"And I care why?"

"Why wouldn't you care?"

Kurt was silent, so he plowed on with ease. "I also had this one friend. My best friend. Her name was Gwen."

"…Gwen…?"

"Yeah. Gwen. I told you I needed something from her, didn't I? Well, before I came back, I went to go see her. She was all spread out on the ground. In the rain. Isn't that silly?"

Kurt nodded, dumbstruck.

"Well," he continued, with a meaningless nod, "I asked her where the locket was. The locket was this childhood gift I gave her; made it with my own two hands," he said in reply to Kurt's questioning gaze.

"Where was it?" he wheezed.

Ray paused, as if trying to remember. "She said it was in Sunny Lake. But… when you've known someone for so long, you can tell when they're lying, even in the rain. The way she looked at me, the way she spoke: it was so obvious she was trying to lead me off. I wonder why she would even do that. Maybe… maybe it hurt, all the memories it brought back to her…"

Kurt didn't even move this time.

"What I'm saying is," Ray rambled on, "I'm sorry I stabbed you. I have this childhood trauma with guns, too, you know. Gwen and I were fighting over one this one day. And then it suddenly went off and killed my mother. It was devastating. Never liked guns ever since. But…" He eyed the man squarely. "I gave it to you to hold, not to use. What were you thinking, shooting at that poor girl like that?"

Kurt was still.

"I mean, of course she wouldn't be able to defend herself. She's, what, already so broken after you went through with her the _first _time. As if she needed a second round. It only made _sense _to… oh." He grabbed Kurt by the back of his spiked hair, lifting his face from the soil. He'd stopped breathing. "Great, I was just reminiscing with a dead guy."

He released his head with a _thud_, before getting up and heading over to inspect Dia. The instant Kurt had whirled around to shoot her, Ray had reacted on instinct. An impulsive one he couldn't pinpoint the meaning to. It was as if he was sick of gun deaths. He was sick of the sound of gunshot. He was sick… of it all. And he didn't know why, but he jumped. Right in front of Dia. Right in front of the bullet.

He was hit in the chest. It hurt, actually. So he went up to Kurt, and he pulled out the knife he used to gut fish. He stabbed Kurt— _twenty-two times, to be exact. _It wasn't entirely pleasant, but… what could he say?

Of course, he wasn't ready for flattery or shock or anything. So it was only natural to take the gun and… knock Dia out with it. In the head. From the back. Wasn't that only sensible?

Still, he felt sorry for them _both_— it wasn't like Kurt had a meaningful life to get back to, but Dia… she was blinded in one eye. Nothing could replace an eye. And judging by the looks of all the wounds slashed against her, her position was fatal.

He looked down at the hole in his chest and sighed as blood gushed freely from it. Would Gwen get the right message if he gave her the bullet? Why had he even _given _her the bullet? Sure, a locket, back then, wasn't that much of an unusual gift… but a bullet? What had he been thinking?

But of course, life was full of surprises. And mysteries. Gwen could solve the mystery on her own.

For now, however…

Ray nestled himself snugly among the green grass. He sighed for the umpteenth time as his vision obscured, almost laughing at the way he'd died. _Right after his mother… _It was ironic.

Funny, even.

He let out a short chuckle. It seemed to go on endlessly, until his breath caught, and a terrible sting in his chest silenced him.

He died with a smile on his lips.

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **Sorry if the ending seemed a bit rushed. I just… yeah. If it caused you any confusion just say the word, and I am your willing… slave? Pfft, you wish.


	20. Twist the Knife

A/N: Here it is. The second last chapter of Her Name In Blood. To all my reviewers, especially klutz586, The Scarlet Sky, and Radioactive X-Naut, you have no idea how inspirational you three are. Chapter twenty-one wouldn't be up without you :D But it's the second-to-last end now, and I'm afraid our reader-writer bond (LMFAO!) must come to an end. I'm unsure of whether or not to write a sequel to this, but for the time being… it'll be over.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon.

Her Name In Blood

_Happiness can only last so long. _

_Memories are… painfully strange things, aren't they, for lack of better word? One minute you're laughing with your friends, eating dinner with your family, walking the dog. It may take hours before you finish doing whatever it is you're doing. Maybe more. Maybe less. But it only takes an instant to receive a terrible pang, dose, shot of memory… and as some like to refer to it as… reality. _

_Pain is reality. But reality is not necessarily pain. And pain does not always contradict joy. Sometimes, to be hurt is to be happy. Because as long as you try, the bruises, gashes, wounds and scars nicked against your skin mean nothing. As long as you try… you're foolish enough to feel happy. Is it a façade, an act? …I don't even know. _

_But like pain, happiness can return as quickly as it ebbs away. _

_There is an odd line between happiness and pain. That is when you're standing in the crossroads between. You can never really choose which road to continue down, can you? In the end, everything leads to another anyway. The crossroads make out to be one twisted avenue of deception and conception. It's full of shit. _

_Trouble occurs when you cross that line. And I think I've just reached my breaking point. I think I've just… broken. _

_I'll reassess this to emphasize it: LIFE IS FULL OF SHIT! So why do we continue, huh? What's the point? Everything, it's all so… funny. Yeah. I think funny is suitable for the situation. In the fucked-up way. _

…_I almost took the locket back, you know. I was going to get it from the Moonlight Cave and I brought it to Sunny Lake. It's kind of hard to explain why… I mean, it hurts just thinking. The memory hurts. _

_I'll just drabble a shorter version of what happened. Okay, so, just one week after my and… Ray's latest encounter after the… incident… Ray approached me once more. He said, "Where is the locket?" I told him, "It's by Sunny Lake." He didn't believe me. So I went to Moonlight Cave, and I tried to bring it back to Sunny Lake just to prove him wrong. When I checked the precise rocks I'd left the locket… it wasn't there anymore. _

_I searched everywhere. Under rocks, behind rocks, over rocks, on the dirt. The locket might've been wiped clear off the dirt. The locket could've been stolen. But as far as I knew, it was gone. _

_And the next week after that, so was Ray._

**xoxo**

Martha scrambled to her knees, for her feet felt far too sore to stand upon. She fumbled about until she grasped what she thought was Elvira's wrist. Her fingers rubbed the assumed article, but to her dismay she found it was merely a scrap of paper. She chucked it mercilessly to the side, dragging her body along until she found Elvira's.

Finally, as her hand clasped against a nimble thigh.

"Martha?" an unmistakable voice gasped in recoil.

"Yes," she replied, though only slightly relieved to have found the woman. "Elvira, we're getting out. This isn't a suggestion anymore."

Elvira bristled at her harsh indifference. "What do you mean? I already told you, I'm not coming."

But Martha had a dispute of her own. "Fine then. Stay. Stay here on your own. I'll leave, I'll be free and alive, and you'll rot away in the cave chilled with the ticking of dynamite…" She realized it sounded cold and grim, but it was enough to alter Dia's mother's perspective.

"You wouldn't leave me…" she finally began slowly, but Martha only smirked in her act.

"Oh? Just watch me. Then again, you can't, so just listen to my footsteps." She couldn't stand performing such a wicked act, but it was the only choice she had. She began to stride away, not too loudly and not too quietly.

Another smirk reached her lips when Elvira scrambled up beside her.

"I just don't want to be alone when we get out of here," she explained briskly, surprisingly dignified for someone who had just been unceremoniously ditched.

"Of course, of course," Martha replied smoothly. She opened her mouth to say more, but her mouth stopped midway when she spotted a crack of light in the distance.

Elvira appeared to have glimpsed it as well, for she let out a squeal-like cry. "Look, look! An exit! I found an exit, Martha!"

She almost laughed with joy. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said, feeling as alive as she had since she could remember.

She and Elvira managed to gather all their blistered energy as they ran to the exit. The instant they reached it, Martha started to paw at it, Elvira following suit soon after. In a matter of moments the crack had augmented greatly; its opening ample enough to begin with.

They squeezed through the hole like octopi, not stopping to take a breath until they were back outside.

"We're free!" Elvira burst out, laughing girlishly. "We actually did it… we're free, we're free, yay!" She gave Martha the tightest, most heart-warming, bonecrushing embrace, causing her to tumble back. "Do you know what this means?!"

"_Hello_?"

They froze at the latter's voice.

"_Is someone there, Alex_?"

"_I think so. I heard laughter…" _

"_Laughter? Alex, just sit down, no one's there…" _

"_No, someone's there, I know it! If only I could get their attention…! Hello?!?_"

Martha had never felt so full of life and emotion. She'd never felt so hopeful and great before, even after such a tedious storm sent from hell.

It didn't take long for her to take the voices into recognition. "ALEX!" she screamed, louder than she realized. She almost hugged the wall. "GINA!"

"_Martha_?"

"_What_? _Martha is there_?"

"_What?!?_"

"Yes, I am!!" She blasted through the raindrops like a ripcord, jerking her head clockwise until she spotted an opening likewise to the one she and Elvira had emerged from. "I found an exit. Just hang on, you'll be out soon!"

"…_What was that? What did she say_?"

"_She said… we're gonna be safe._"

After a few incessant minutes of digging, Martha and Elvira had helped out the two doctors. Once slightly awkward introductions, drabbled explanations, pulse-splitting hugs, and totally uncalled for announcements (Gina and Alex were dating!) had been made, the four had come to a conclusion that it would be best to run.

"What time is it? When will the dynamite go off?" Gina questioned the instant they started off.

Elvira chuckled, seeming explicitly joyful. "I really don't know, honey."

Martha seemed cleanly shocked that Elvira had called Gina 'honey', but Alex and Gina, who hadn't seen the dark side to her, and were yet to realize her relation to Dia, hadn't even noticed.

Speaking of which…

_Where _was_ Dia? _

Martha tried to quell the instant upheaval of her chest. After everything that had just happened, Dia had to be alright. It would break the chain; it would snap the wires… Dia just _had _to be alright. Martha wouldn't be able to take the pain if she wasn't.

"Martha, Elvira, Alex; _look_!"

Four pairs of eyes rose to the sky, which Gina was pointing at in awe.

"What? What?"

Elvira's voice vanished as she realized what Gina was talking about. The sky had calmed, the rain had dissipated into a tranquil, low mist, and the mixture of thunder and lightning had evaporated to light. The light trailed to the sun, which emerged from the bluest, softest, clearest sky ever in the history of Flower Bud. Warmth burst into the air and the eternal chill seemed to fade. Looking around, the grass seemed to gleam and all the trees and plants looked vivacious from the heavy rainfall. The flowing stream to their left rushed into one solid direction almost gleefully, endlessly soaring as sunlight bounced off the ripples of their tails.

Martha hugged Gina and cried. Things truly were about to end well, and more well than one could ever predict.

**xoxo**

The horse landed with a loud crunch, sending the three men askew. They toppled awry to the mud on the ground as the beast rode off poignantly into the distance. Jamie was first to get up, his first intention to swear his head off at the still-smiling Jack.

Mid-cuss, his speech was interrupted by a loud moan coming from the dark-skinned man on the ground behind them.

"What?" Jack said.

He groaned. "I think I landed on something…"

Jack looked down, as if noticing the big gash in his stomach for the first time. "Hey, so did I!"

"Well, I didn't," Jamie began. His response led to eyes upon him and he glared. "What?"

"If we're 'handicapped' and if you're 'A-okay' and if there's a nice, long mountain path away from town…"

"I'm not carrying you back!" Jamie roared.

"Come on, please?" Jack toyed. "It'll be fuuuun!" Jamie didn't reply right away, so he took that as a sign of agreement. "I call your back! I've always loved a good horsie-ride."

Jamie seemed to tense with each word. "You know, you're lookin' really helpless, Jack, I could rip your heart right out your mouth if I wanted to." He leaned in real close and hissed, "_Rrrrrrippp…_"

Jack shivered, trying to synchronize with the tapping rain. But none came. He looked up, bemused.

"What?" Jamie snapped, annoyed with the farmer's constant amusement.

"Lookie up there. It stopped raining," Jack observed, his mouth falling open.

The other man looked up as well. "It… wow. It just… stopped?"

Jamie barely got a millisecond to comprehend the miracle, however, for Jack had leapt up. "YEAH! WOOHOO! THAT'S SICK!" he cheered. Then he doubled over in pain from his throbbing stomach. "Ow, ow, ow…"

Jamie glowered. "Rain or no rain, I'm still not carrying you," he retorted. Then his eyes ascended back to the heavens, mouth agape. What a miracle. The rain, the storm, everything was… gone. And it left perfection in its footsteps. How absolutely… wonderful.

Distant sirens alerted perked ears, heads turning simultaneously to a white truck rushing down Flower Bud's now-peaceful roads.

"ECNALUBMA," Jack read from a distance, squinting to enhance his vision. "What's an ecnaluema?"

"Read it backwards!" Enthrallment ripped off Jamie's mask, bliss exposed. "It says… ambulance! The ambulance is here! Everyone's gonna be alright!!"

"How'd they get here?" the stranger asked, looking fascinated.

"Who cares? They're here!" Jamie cried.

Jack, for a first, was the only one who didn't seem ecstatic. Jamie turned to him, looking stricken.

"What's wrong, Happy?"

"It's cool the ecnaluema is here and all," Jack began, just to spite the other two. "But… how the hell are _we _gonna get to _them_?"

Again, all eyes were directed to Jamie.

"Fine, I'll carry you assholes…" Jamie muttered. "But that's only 'cuz… humph."

**xoxo**

Gwen took a few deep breaths, her hair even wetter than before, if that was possible. Okay, so she wasn't the best at leapfrog, and gymnastics were never her strong point… but why, oh why did she have to miss?! She'd taken a terrifyingly testing jump across the big hole. Because, yeah, of course the bridge just had to be missing. Of course she just had to be just a metre away from the other side of the bridge when she landed. Of course she had to fall into the raging river below! Sure, she wasn't hurt or anything, but… damn, she was scared!

She dabbed at the remaining droplets of water sliding down the bridge of her nose when she halted in time. Why wasn't the rain reducing her efforts… why wasn't the rain re-soaking her?

She looked up.

The rain was gone.

"Oh…" she uttered, her entire body drooping. "Then… that… means…"

_Dan has to be okay… _

Incredulity filled her numbness and she leapt into the air, prancing around impulsively.

"…I'm okay! Dan's okay! We're all okay! Yay! Yay! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!"

**xoxo**

Bob was the first to reach the paramedics. They trooped up to him and he pointed silently to Blue, who lay brokenly on the floor of the shed.

"Have you placed him in a warm environment?" one of the doctors demanded.

Bob nodded.

"Have you removed any and all wet clothing?"

Again, he nodded.

"…Has he awoken, once?"

Bob's tone was low. "No. Not once. I even thought… he was…"

"We'll cure your friend right away," he interrupted, much to Bob's relief. They rushed up to Blue and escorted him inside the white vehicle wordlessly. The ambulance was still roaring with life.

However, one other men remained by Bob's side. He wasn't dressed in all white like the paramedics. Instead, he stood with authority in a purple suit and celestial badge. A tag on his chest read **HARRIS**.

"Amazing, isn't it?" he questioned as a long silence dawned.

"What's amazing?"

"It was raining a little while ago, wasn't it?"

Bob paused to take in his surroundings. His skin didn't feel the familiar pounding anymore… and he wasn't as wet. "… Raining doesn't even cut it," he said softly as his eyelids grew heavy.

Harris nodded and began to inspect the shed out of the corner of his eye, when suddenly they bulged. "Good Goddess!" he cried out.

Bob turned around. "What?"

Harris pointed, a horrified look splayed out on his face at the corpse which resembled Terry.

"…Oh. That," Bob began, making Harris face and stare at him. "Yeah. That… wasn't my fault."

"Then… what… _who_…"

"There was this guy… with a fishing rod…" He struggled to explain. "And he just walked in…and then he _threw _him at us…"

Harris swivelled an immediate stopping motion. "Sometimes it's better… to just keep quiet."

Bob swallowed and nodded as he watched Harris advance slowly towards the shed. Disgustedly, he grabbed Terry by the collar. Then he got up and shoved him back to the floor.

"You know what, we can deal with him later," he said, disguising something into a cough. Bob couldn't tell what it was. "But in the meantime…"

Bob nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure Blue will be okay…"

"He will be, son."

"I-I know." He pulled on a big, hardy grin. "It's over… isn't it?"

Harris, who didn't understand half of what 'it' was, and whom wasn't there as 'it' occurred, looked bewildered. "Hm?"

"Never mind…" Still grinning, he shook his head violently. He silently answered his own question.

_Yes… it's over_.

**xoxo**

Dia stifled a yawn. She got up and attempted to rub her eyes, shooting back with recoil as she touched her injured one. Then she shot up, memories flooding back to her from Kurt's beating.

"What happened?" she cried out, but no one was there. No one… but…

She shrank back at the sight of the dead man, a solid bullet wound indented into his chest. She cringed at the memory of him leaping in front of her and then getting blasted back. Then she cringed harder when she felt something steel knocking her out from behind.

A man she hadn't even known had sacrificed himself for her?

She touched her brine-like head. Amnesia… maybe he _had _known her. Would she ever find out?

The distant sound of arguing flowed through her ears. She limped to her feet and struggled as she ran out of the Goddess Pond, not even realizing the entrance had suddenly appeared.

Her bloody, belittled face was met with three shocked ones. She smiled a small smile, knowing she wasn't alone, as she fell to her knees.

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **I'm sorry for the utter happiness of this chapter, and all the disgusting joy towards the end. If you know me, then you'd have expected a happy ending. Unhappy endings feel incomplete. So await one more epilogue, and then this story… is over. Wow.


	21. Rise and Fall

A/N: Okay. Chapter twenty was officially NOT the last chapter. This is too annoyingly addicting to write. Before I knew it, I topped 3000 words, and I didn't want the epilogue to be so long as to make you guys barf over. So THIS is the last chapter, I guess. Or not. And the next is the epilogue… for sure this time. Really.

P.S. Do not read my after-spoilers author's notes. They usually lie -.-

Thank you The Scarlet Sky, klutz586, Radioactive X-Naut, and RainbowMelody for reviewing. –is flattered you stuck by me in times of… uh, peril-

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Mild language.

Her Name In Blood

_Six days later… _

Dia lay alone in her hospital bed, contemplating all that had happened. So many lives had been taken, some without explanation. So much destruction had been caused, to humans and houses. An incredible amount of help was required to help rebuild the frail, thread-standing Flower Bud Village, but despite this each and every last villager, down to the youngest child, opted to pitch in. People truly could be wonderful.

But as wonderful as the people could seem, no one was perfect in the eyes of others. And sometimes, when you love someone, who you aren't perfect to, you're forced to hate them.

Earlier, when she was sleeping in recuperation, she had been awoken by a sudden cry. She hadn't even a second to orient herself in the hospital bed when the air's tranquility was intervened when she heard hushed whispers coming from the other room. She tried not to eavesdrop, but as the voices grew louder and louder, it was impossible to blockade them.

"_Where is she? I could've sworn she was just here. Do you know, Martha?" _

"…_Quiet, Gina." _

"_What? Is something the matter?" _

"_Gina… do you remember how Alex said he'd give us all checkups… just in case?" _

"_Yes, I… oh my Goddess, you're not…?" _

"_No. No, I'm not. But someone else is. You see…" _

"…_What is it, Martha…?" _

"_Look, Gina. You must promise not to tell her yet." _

"_Tell her what? Why can't I— oh…" _

"… _I'm sorry. We couldn't help her in time."_

"…_No…"_

The very tones of their voices sent chills down her spine. Who could they have been talking about?

"Gina? Gina?"

Dia climbed delicately out of bed, careful not to let anything collide against the sling over her left arm or the patch concealing her right eye. The white bandages strapped against her gave her a somewhat mummified appeal, but as long as she was slowly healing overtime, she didn't so much mind.

"Are you there, Gina?"

Her voice resounded off the expanding walls of the sanatorium, for the clinic had fallen under too great damage to allow her to rest in. "Oof!" She rolled on her heels once her bare feet met the ground and she slipped forward, straight into the arms of a further presence.

"Are you okay, Dia?" a soft voice asked.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for—" Her throat caught in bitter resentment when her eyes scanned the handsome features of Doctor Alex's concerned face. The way his eyebrows knit were genuine, and his worry was as well. But Dia tried to wrought up all the insincere thoughts about him she could and pulled away searingly. "What do you want? I said I'm looking for _Gins_," she tried to say as angrily as she could, her throat incarcerating with each word. She looked away to prevent excess tears. "Where is she?"

Alex seemed to try to make his voice sound even as well. "She's downstairs," he answered, in a pre-composed, gentle tone. "Do you want me to go get her for you?"

She hated the babysitter-demeanor trapped in his words. "No," her tongue solidated, "I want to go see her."

"But in your condition—"

"Excuse me, Doctor, but I'm afraid you haven't heard me correctly. I said I wanted to go see her." She did her best to restrain any traces of weakness. Now that she loved him, she had to hate him. He was gone now. He was her best friend's. He was Gina's.

She planted back upon the soles of her feet and dragged her clumsy body away, only to fall forward once more. The instant she felt warm hands wrap around her waist, she reacted and whipped away.

"I don't need your help!" she screamed, so loudly her lungs throbbed. She noted Alex rear back in shock, so she took it as an opportunity to get back up. Limping until she could grasp the banister, she gave him a sobbing leer and clambered down the stairs, tripping momentarily despite her tight grip of support.

Everything was supposed to be better now. The storm was over. Many lives had been spared. The village was starting again on a fresh page of the book. All the townspeople were united and close as ever. Why… _why weren't things better for her?! _

She pounded against the solid wood wall so hard her fist throbbed, but she ignored it, feeling hot tears glide down the burning edges of her eyes. They slid gracelessly down the pale sides of her cheeks, clasping one hand before the perimeter of her eye. She was half-blind now; half dead. Her true love wasn't hers anymore. Worst of all, he was her best friend's.

She wanted to be happy for Gina. Screw Alex. But she loved Gina. They were as close as chewed bubble gum. Why couldn't she just feel glad for her?! If she, in her dying state, couldn't get what she wanted, shouldn't she be overjoyed that the closest person to her could?! _Why?!_ "Dammit, why?" she hissed in the quietest voice imaginable.

"…Dia? Is that you? Are you alright? Are you… crying?" an unmistakable, trembling voice said, no higher than a mouse, but no lower than a whisper.

"Gina." She swiped quickly at the tears fluttering freely on her face, trying to find her composure. "Yes, don't worry, I was jut thinking about things in the village."

Gina faltered, unable to find the right words to intonate. Dia provided one, dread and discomfort capsizing the innards of her darkened heart. Bitter songs encrypted from the strings of her unreal harp, sending off-key dimuendos through either of her ears. She tried to block them out. "I like your new glasses. They suit you well."

"Oh… thank you. I ordered them, recently, from the city…" She glanced about nervously. "Um…"

Dia swallowed, her ears ringing with the words she didn't want to hear.

"_I love you, Gina." _

"_I love you, Alex." _

…_Why couldn't I be in her place?_

"It's a shame I can't help rebuild the town," she relented, just to hear the sound of her own voice, and not Alex's. "If I hadn't had this cast, I would've worked right alongside with all the others…"

"I think it's the thought that counts," Gina reminded her, looking oddly sheepish.

Dia nodded, and again a small hush plastered against them. Feeling at a cross between generous and afraid for what a silence could bring, she spoke into the crisp, morning air. "Flower Bud's gonna be back, better than ever," she trailed on, oblivious to her own words.

Gina was staring at the ground. "Yeah. It will be."

For the third time, no one said a word, and no one was able to indicate what to say. Dia shuffled, and before she knew it, more spilled from her mouth. "So, I heard you and Alex are dating." She wanted to slap her hand against her lips the instant the words came out.

For some reason, Gina looked hurt. "We are."

"Oh." She tried to push away the guilt in her that wished she'd answered in a state of shock. _What? Of course we aren't! Where'd you here that? _"Well, I'm happy for—"

Her sentence was pierced with a bonecrushing hug from Gina, catching her completely off-guard. A startled gasp escaped her as her best friend's arms wrapped around her, and her eyes widened when she saw tears stain the nurse's face.

"I'm sorry, Dia," she whispered, still tight in their embrace. "I didn't mean for it to happen. I mean, I did, but… love is such a stupid thing. Love's the biggest bitch out there. I'm so, so sorry. I don't want this to ruin out friendship. I know how you feel about him, and I'm sorry…"

Dia managed to pat her friend on the back, restraining from prying her off, finger by finger. Her actions were drawn through her numb limbs, for she couldn't think straight at all. Bending, twisting analogies blared from every vein of her body until she wanted to just explode. "You liked him first. Don't worry about it."

Gina suddenly pulled away. "It doesn't matter. What matters is, you still like him, and I had no right to start anything…"

"Hey." Dia forced a terrible smile. "Feelings mutual, right?" _With the exclusion of myself. _

Gina looked ready to implode with guilt. "No, but it's not just that," she suddenly burst out, colour draining from her cheeks. "That's not all. Dia, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you, it's about…"

Feet pounded from the top landing, and Alex was soon standing before them, in the flesh. He looked surprised when he saw Dia and Gina bawling all over the place. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?" he questioned, entirely out of place. Then his eyes traveled to a thin slip of paper Gina had began to tug out of her pocket and reacted with a yelp. "NO!" he thundered, causing Dia to inwardly jump. "Now is _not the time_!"

Completely oblivious, the injured girl watched as Gina took a weary step forward. Her expression was brave, however. "She's not a child, Alex. We have to tell her eventually."

Alex shook his head roughly. "I realize that. But, Gina, _I _want to tell her."

"Why? Why can't I? I'm her best friend, you're…" Her tongue caught, and she decided to stop at that.

Alex interrupted with ease. "No, Gina. I have to."

"But… but _why_?" She was beginning to give in. Maybe it was something couples easily did, Dia inwardly remarked.

"Because I… want to." His eyes flickered to meet Dia's dazzling, yet fading green ones. He stepped up. "Can I…"

"Is it something bad?" Dia cut through him, without really meaning to. She rearranged her words immediately. "I mean, something negative? That will make me feel… horrible?"

Alex seemed surprised once again, so she took it as a yes. "Dia…"

"Please," she blurted out, again without intention. She couldn't stand her name being said through his tongue. "Please don't get touchy with me."

"I'm sorry." He sounded mixed between sardonic and apologetic. Finally he weakened, and said, "Is now a good time?"

Dia wanted to scream and point to all the wounds scarred forever against her. "DOES IT FUCKING LOOK LIKE A GOOD TIME FOR ANYTHING?" was all she wanted to say. But she sucked in her resolve and managed a shaky, "Yes."

Alex gave Gina an approving nod, so she brought a trembling hand to the slip of paper. Extracting it, she passed it to the waiting palm of the doctor, who took it before Dia could glimpse at its contents.

"There's something we haven't told you yet," Alex said, quietly. "Something you should really know."

Dia didn't interrupt, like one normally would. But Alex felt too serious to falter. Being a doctor, he was used to spreading bad news, as was Gina. "I'm sorry, but the surgery was unsuccessful."; "The baby could not be delivered… I'm sorry…"; "Your house has just been burned to the ground." He apologized, yet he could never, not even in his dying, wishing ability, could he aide or fix things. He apologized, yet he was usually the one blamed for the bad news, though he was merely the messenger. There was no 'good' or 'bad' to describe the execution of the task, but the outcome never ended okay.

"Six days ago, your mother, Elvira came… she came to the sanatorium." He tried to ignore the look of shock twisted upon her face. "She was looking for you, she said. But at that point, of course, you weren't here. After that, she met Martha here, and then they met Kurt. They were then led up the mountaintop, where they were deceived, and pushed down a great…"

"Alex, she doesn't need to know _that _much," Gina hissed uncharacteristically, not daring to glance at a stone-still Dia.

Alex gave her a "Gina, please" look before resuming. "They suffered slightly, but while they were trapped in Moonlight Cave, something happened. The air in the cave was no normal air. I'm sure you're familiar with all the tales of the horrible things that lay in its core. Orange gas, sharp rocks, beasts— which is a total myth— but in this case, miasma. Somehow, one of the rocks were open, and the deadly gas appeared to have infected her. Elvira… pardon me, your mother… was greatly affected by this. Her immune system was poor to begin with, so when we brought her back here…" He paused, as if awaiting a slap or a punch, just to stop the words from coming.

Instead, he heard a tentative, "Continue, Alex." He drew in his breath for a moment; he hadn't heard Dia refer to him by just his first name since the night she ran away…

"Oh," he muttered when he was brought back to reality. "Dia…" _I'm sorry, but your mom's dead_. He was used to delivering bad news, but… he wasn't used to doing it with people he knew so well. He wished he could've let Gina tell her. He wished he could have been in any other position.

But just for the sake of finishing, he gurgled out a strained, "I'm sorry. We've tried every medical help in the area. Not even the medics could help. She, she… I'm sorry… but she died."

The thickest silence erupted the instant he punctuated his sentence. It was only moments later a reply came.

"…O-o-o…" Tiny squeaks spilled out of Dia. At that instant, she went suddenly numb. It was only seconds later she fell coldly to the ground that Gina caught her, bawling to no end. Tears stained her dress and the cool linoleum flooring. Finally she was sobbing on her stomach, heart-borne breaths racking her body.

"I'm sorry—"

"OH, SHUT UP! DON'T EVEN SAY IT!" Dia hollered, continuing to scream even if it hurt. "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE DIE! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO FEEL HOW I DO!"

The truth was, though… he did. At the age of twelve, both of Alex's parents had died from a similar disease. It was the reason why he'd chose to pursuit the lifestyle of the doctors. He hadn't even bothered to share the story with her, but he knew he didn't need to. He stood silently through a thousand personal insults, and a few times Dia even spilled out a few secret truths he wanted no one else to know. Ignoring Gina's gaping mouth, he continued to listen intently, not interrupting her to breathe.

She concluded with a dying, "Why did she have to die?" And then she fell back to the ground, crying until no tears were found in her body.

Alex nodded to insinuate for Gina to leave her. _She needs to be alone_. Wordlessly, they trudged out of the building itself, Dia left on the floor.

"Alone," she voiced, once she had found sound in her lungs. "Once again, I'm alone." She rolled onto her back, ignoring the imploding pain sinking into her. "Go ahead and leave me. Leave me like everything, and everyone else."

However, Gina was waiting by a hidden corridor. She revealed herself to a startled Dia, the trace of a smile on her lips. "I would never leave you."

Then they hugged once more, and cried, tears that understood each other's pain.

**xoxo**

Jack stabbed his shovel bitterly into the dirt, all traces of humour swept clear off his dirt-smeared face. "Sucks, huh, that we have to get stuck with a job like this?" he grunted to Jamie, who was shovelling away parallel from him.

Jamie said nothing in reply, so he continued begrudgingly. "You'd think if you're a farmer, they'd damn let you build things. Or even run around selling drinks. But no, we get stuck with this shit-ass job…"

"Stop complaining. It's for a good cause."

Jamie had barely registered even his own words before Jack stopped suddenly. "Is that all you have to say?" he finally snapped. "We're stuck digging caves for all the idiots that died, and you're saying it's for a good cause? Don't you ever complain… ever?"

Jamie was taken aback. "What's the point of complaining? I'll just get things done before I can waste my breath."

Jack scoffed, "But that's just the thing! It's stupid! Don't you have anything you dislike? Anything at all?"

"Yeah. You," Jamie snapped before he could stop himself. However, Jack wasn't offended. Instead, he seemed… amused.

"There you go, regaining your edge," he said chipperly, and to his utter shock, resumed digging.

"That's all you're gonna say?" Jamie finally said. "I expected you to rant on for hours. Are you letting me down?"

Jack snorted. "Well, maybe you're right, barely. Complaining won't get me through things." He brought in a slight pause. "But that still doesn't mean I want to do this."

"Who would?" Jamie said. He withdrew his shovel. "…I think it's time for the hard part now."

"What's that?"

"Burying everyone."

Jack's face grew ridiculously stony once more, again a devoid of jokes. "Oh. Well, I suppose we could work together with this."

Jamie nodded after a small glance. Jack was a very different person when he was serious. Maybe even different enough to be… to be…

No. Nah. He couldn't.

Jack worked alongside Jamie silently. When their gazes met, Jack forced a silly grin— its origination anonymous. For some reason, it only made the inward sirens of Jamie's mind blare louder and louder. Inexplicably, the recent scene struck him as an opportunity. An opportunity to make a new… a new…

"…Friends?"

He seemed shocked that Jack would be first to ask. He scowled. "No way, you freak. I'd never be friends with you."

He smirked when a crestfallen dance fell upon the man's lips.

"But would _you _be friends with _me_?"

Jack scowled openly. "That's so old, you loser. Just for that, I don't want to be friends with you anymore."

Jamie reared up in his defence. "Oh yeah? Well maybe I don't wanna be friends with you, either!"

"Fine with me!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

There was a short pause.

"I suppose we should get back to work…" Jamie suggested briskly.

Jack glared at him. "Fine."

Jamie glared back. "Fine!"

As the rivals turned away, they found smiles. It was fine just the way it was.

A terrible groan suddenly erupted from the left. Ears perking, they gave each other nods before setting off in the same direction. Arriving to the source of the noise, they stopped in their tracks, Jamie even letting out a surprised shriek.

Two charred bodies were shuffling in the clearing.

"What happened?" one whispered, her hair blonde and her limbs thin. She turned, soot dripping from the tip of her nose. "Carl?"

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **I told you not to read these, but oh well. Yeah, I decided last minute that they shouldn't be dead. Or… should they? Shut the hell up…


	22. To Gain What Is Lost

A/N: It's a double update! No idea where this sudden inspiration came from. A slightly filler chapter, and again, it's not over yet XD still expect an epilogue… later. Likewise, I've written this in placement of studying. Screw geo:D Not much to write, but I promise a big fat chunk of commentary when it's over.

I didn't give you time at, like, ALL to review, but thank you The Scarlet Sky and Radioactive X-Naut for doing so anyway. It might seem like I'm taking you guys for granted in these short passages, but I'm seriously not. See? I thrive off your reviews.

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon, mild language.

Her Name In Blood

_Hey, Diary. Yep, you guessed it. I'm writing to you again. Same lead, different pencil. Hah! Sounds like me. Same body, different Gwen. _

_Away from the metaphorical jazz, or whatever it's called. Mister All-Knowing Inanimate Diary, guess how long it's been since I've last whined like a piteous loser into you?_

_Four years. Wow, eh? Four fucking years since I recorded anything. Or really wrote _anything_, if I think about it. You know, when I was younger, I always aspired to have a deep, meaningful job, if that makes any sense. I dunno. Like a doctor, or author, or a psychologist, or something. The human mind always fascinated me. As did the end of a pen._

_But now… it makes me laugh. People are so foolish. Some people's minds are so different; some people's thoughts are ridiculous in my perspective. It's hard to believe we're all so alike, yet so… stupid! Why, and how do we think the things we do? More importantly, what was I thinking when I wrote down all those things, four years into the past? _

_I don't miss Ray. Fuck Ray. You know, if he's gonna forget about me like that and just walk outta my life, then he can go ahead and do that. Because I'll be laughing from where I drove him away. _

_Oh yeah. Did I tell you? I joined a gang. I dunno what it's called. I was just… so frustrated, and alone. There's this guy, Kurt. He said he'd give me something that would relieve all my stress. So I said sure, whatever. And then he handed me… this thing. This shiny, silver… gun. It was loaded and everything. I had to admit, it was beautiful. _

_And then I thought of Ray and his mother, and I told him I couldn't accept it. Bad idea. The next instant he had me in a headlock, and I had no way to score any punches his way. He forced me to join their gang…pretty embarrassing, hm? Well, I can't say I regret it. _

_Flower Bud Village was long behind me since that moment on. Did I tell you? I've left home. The gang's my new life. Ew, saying 'the gang' makes me sound like some sorta wannabe. Well, as long as it's my new distraction, it doesn't matter. Does it? Naw. _

_Oh, are you wondering where I am now? I'm by a campfire, somewhere wayyy in the East. Dunno east of where. Just… east. Kurt said there's a man on our blacklist coming through the mountain trail and we can jump him when he least expects it. I asked him why he was on our blacklist. He said that he was looking for something Kurt didn't want him to have. _

_Pretty stupid reason, if you ask me. But nonetheless, we jumped him, just when he was nearing this patch of grass in the middle of literally nowhere, looking ecstatic. I almost felt sorry as I shot a bullet through that jubilant little face of his. _

…_He died with two fingers around the stem of a flower. It was white, and soft, and immaculate with no leaves and many thorns… that's all I remember. Then I asked Kurt what the big deal was about the flower, after we'd disposed of his body. Kurt said the guy was supposed to get it to cure his wife. I had to admit, it was a pretty sad story… after all, that dick had ditched his wife and two kids and home just to pluck a damn flower hidden among the roll of the world. How dumb is that? What are the chances of him finding it? _

_I guess that's something I shouldn't write, because, well, he found it. And he got it. He just didn't totally… pluck it. After we'd gone through his stuff, I found this thing in his pocket, and I just suddenly started… crying. I hadn't cried in hell knows how long. I didn't even know why. I mean, I didn't even know the faces of the people in the picture, but… where the picture _was…

_It was a locket. I found a locket in his coat. It looked store-bought, not handmade, but… it still probably meant so much. At that moment, as I stared into the locket, I felt so… so horrible. Rod, it said in gold. I think that was his name. And then I remembered how Gwen and Ray were in my locket too. _

_I don't know what I was thinking. I put the locket back in Rod's coat. And then I turned and ran… I didn't even know where I was going. I thought I'd get things sorted out by the time I'd arrived at an inhabited city or something. But it never happened. Kurt and the others caught up with me and dragged me back. I was bound to my promise. He said I had to, and it was what I wanted._

_He didn't realize, the keyword was _was_. I didn't want that anymore. I had this fucking nostalgic feeling that stabbed at me… all I wanted was to go home. And here I am now. Back where I started. And I still can't go back._

_I don't think I can continue anymore. Just saying it again, I'm around the campfire alone right now. All the others went to bed. I was thinking of tossing this in the fire but then I noticed I might want to take it out and look at it sometime in the near future. _

_I'm going now. See _

_Oh yeah. I forgot to say. We have a new target on our blacklist... and you guessed it… it's Ray. His whereabouts are in Flower Bud Village. You can see why I'm reluctant in going… after all, it's my hometown. With my old best friend. How can they expect me to go there? … Hah, since when did anyone care what I expected? I guess I'll just have to see what becomes of things. But until then… _

_Bye. _

**xoxo**

Gina clasped her palm tightly against Dia's shoulder as she lowered her neck to splash tapwater on her face. She made sure to avoid the bandage, once again, accidentally choking once when she forgot to shut her mouth; she was too preoccupied thinking.

"Are you okay?" Gina asked, worriedly.

Dia nodded stiffly. If there was one thing she hated, it was being treated like a child. She didn't need a mommy to kiss her booboo whenever she tripped on the cement. She didn't need a daddy rushing to her side whenever she accidentally stepped on a sewer grate.

But why, just why, couldn't she have at least _one _parent by her side?

"Do you want to go see everyone?" Gina asked quietly, seeming absolutely determined to lead away her thoughts from Elvira.

She would've declined the offer, but normally, Gina wouldn't stop insisting if she did. So Dia just gave one simple nod. It was enough to send the nurse's spirits to great heights.

"Great, then I'll go get dressed," she chirped, suddenly bright. "I'll meet you in, oh… ten minutes?"

"It's okay," Dia answered, as smoothly as she could. "I think I can go see how everyone's doing myself."

At this, her face noticeably fell. "You're going alone?"

She was silent before murmuring, "I want some time to think."

Gina gave her a thoughtful, contemplative stare, as if Dia were some foreign mystery. But surprisingly, her eyes softened. "I understand."

"You… what?" Dia was taken aback. For some reason, the two words meant so much to her. Probably more than "I love you" could mean from Alex to Gina. But… "I understand." It was the phrase she'd been looking for the whole entire time…! She suddenly felt giddy with comprehension.

That was it! The two words that could make her feel complete. It was all she wanted… anyone to say those two little words! Gina! Alex! Kurt! Anyone! It was all she could hope for!

"Thank you!" she burst out before Gina could speak. A tart laugh escaped her in a short breath before she ran out of the sanatorium, ignoring the ache of her limbs.

_I understand. _How could anything sound so good to her? Her body was malfunctioning, her lovelife was torn to shreds, and her mother was dead… but she just felt so damn good! She would've skipped if her legs weren't scarred and bruised.

However, her upheaval of bliss was interrupted by a desperate scream coming from ahead. Her smile was replaced with a gasp of worry as she walked as quickly as she could to meet the scene. When she arrived, between an ambulance and what was left of the Blue Sky Ranch, she was met with the depleted eyes of Bob, the bulky farmer.

"YOU'D BETTER HEAL HIM! FUCKING HEAL HIM RIGHT NOW!" he was in the midst of hollering to the paramedics, who seemed at work inside the white vehicle. He pounded his fist viciously against the side of the ranch shed, and it whirred so quickly it looked like a disc snapping against splintered wood.

Dia approached slowly, wondering whether it was best to leave or stay.

"IF HE DIES, THEN I'LL KILL YOU TOO! IF HE DIES I'LL BLAME YOU! THERE'S NO FUCKING WAY HE CAN DIE BECAUSE I WON'T FUCKING LET HIM!" His shrieks were brutal and cold as the winter sky. But Dia knew he was just saying them so he wouldn't explode.

"HE'S MY BEST FRIEND, AND MY BEST FRIEND ISN'T GOING TO LEAVE ME!" he relented hollering, and raspiness was becoming evident in his voice. The volume sent ringing pain through everyone in the area's ears, but it passed through Dia like background music. "…_it's not worth it without him!" _

She almost felt her heart break for Bob. In some ways, that was how she felt without Alex. Except, she hadn't known him her whole life. Bob and Blue were tight since the day she moved in… sometimes how close they were even annoyed her. But now, she felt her very soul shatter at the heart-panging sight of Bob shouting at the paramedics for the recuperation of his one and only best friend.

"… I WON'T LET IT!" he finally finished, his massive shoulders heaving up and down with his heavy pants. Tears streamed shamelessly down his face, and he didn't even react when Dia touched his arm on total impulse. He turned gravely to face her, not even seeming fazed when he took in her patched eye or bandaged arm. "What?" he said, in a voice so weak no one could believe it was him just shouting.

"He'll be okay," was all Dia said. And she looked into him _hard_, like she meant it more than anything.

Maybe things couldn't be best for her. Maybe she couldn't force herself to be happy for her best friend. And even though she barely knew Bob, let alone Blue, she felt that if her one wish could be to extend Blue's life— just a little longer. She wanted nothing more than that. No matter how much like a stranger she truly was, she didn't care. She just wished for his safety.

"…CLEAR!" a deafening roar came from inside the ambulance.

Both heads turned at once as a sweating paramedic came out, breathing heavily. Dia felt warmth zap her entire being as he shot them a weak, yet breathtaking smile.

"He's going to be okay."

Dia didn't look, but she knew Bob had begun crying again, this time into his hands. "Thank you," he whispered through muffled sobs. "Thank you so much."

And to Dia's shock, he realized he was talking to _her_.

"You're welcome," she replied, and slowly her words forced her lips into a smile.

**xoxo**

The two men stood before the ash-blanketed guy and gal, mouths gaping.

"B-b-b-but you're supposed to be dead!" Jamie roared, soaring out of his rocker like a dart. "Both of you! What the hell!"

The blonde-haired woman blinked in confusion. "Pardon me?" She stopped mid-sentence to cough, so Jack rushed up to her and started to pat her back.

Jamie was surprised to see the farmer act in such kindness, but upon closer inspection he realized Jack was just being his usual, stupid, flirtatious self. He was now _rubbing _the woman's back, whispering seductive, soothing words into her ears. He twitched in annoyance.

However, his state of irritancy was shown through action by not him, but a sandy-haired (and supposedly dead) man who was, too, on the ground. He whalloped Jack in the hand, causing him to snap back with an "ouch!"

"She's taken," the man retorted with total anger. "And engaged. So back off."

Jack and Jamie stared into each other's eyes with total bewilderment. Finally the gorgeous woman cleared her throat, speaking through a slightly slurred voice.

"Um, I'm Eve," she began. "And this is my… hehe, fiancé, Carl, I love saying that…" Her voice trailed off. "Um, aren't we supposed to be dead?"

"Supposedly," Carl said, before breaking off into a fit of coughs. Eve quickly leaned over and patted his back.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine, thanks."

The farmers continued to watch with perplexity. At last, Jamie cleared his throat, narrowing his eyes unfathomably.

"Uh… would you like something to drink?"

Jack glowered at him instantly, as if sending him a message. _Why didn't I think of that?_

Eve beamed politely. "That'd be great. But I could really use a shower too."

"We can have one at my house, if it's not destroyed," Jack managed to chime, in a wistful voice that made Jamie roll his eyes.

"She's engaged," he snapped in a low voice as they got up to leave.

Jack just shrugged. "Still."

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **Woo! More people live! Hazzah… I so spelled that wrong.


	23. Her Name In Blood

A/N: OMG –HYPERVENTILATE- IT'S ACTUALLY FINALLY THE EPILOGUE!!

..okay, don't get too excited here. I'm not 100 percent happy with this chapter. Writing an epilogue is very hard, especially when you can't finalize it all… ;) yes, there will officially be a **SEQUEL**! Woo! And just cuz of this mega happy shit, don't expect a merry ride. The genre will follow this story's… (more info at the end of the chapter.)

Thank you The Scarlet Sky, klutz586, Radioactive X-Naut, and Ultra Drama Queen for reviewing. I'm thrilled to have a new reviewer, but sadly the boat has docked… eek.

(Wow, this is almost 4000 words. Long much o.o)

**Disclaimer/Warning: **I don't own Harvest Moon. Mild language.

Her Name In Blood

It was amazing, really, that all this could've happened within the sunset and sunrise. That so many lives had been taken and spared, and so many souls crushed and renewed. Something awful and life changing had just occurred yet it was an opportunity to many. The outcome was taken for granted by the majority of Flower Bud's residents, but deep down, they knew things would look up from that point on. After all, how could they not?

Gwen reread the diary entry that had long been forgotten at the back of her pocket, feeling transported back into her vengeful past. She could almost feel herself back around the empty campfire— the night air crisp and cool, flocks of mosquitoes prancing from all around her. Dying flames of the fire reached forward and ebbed back, swaying and crackling as it faded. And one crying girl curled up in a ball before it, disorienting the entire scenery, her sobs piercing even the monotone of the hidden crickets' song.

But that was back then, wasn't it? The emotions differed now. They were altered, as was Gwen— she was a new being. A new person. It was indescribable, how deviant she felt. Looking down at her skin, clothes, and blood, she couldn't even remember fitting inside such a wasted body. She couldn't believe it was possible for _her _to have shot a woman; killed many; cheated more.

A tiny pink petal of a Mora Tree suddenly fell from above her, and she blinked as it landed on her shoulder. Gwen was changing, and the world was as well. It wasn't going to wait for her. And now that time had done its course, the seasons whirred alongside them. It was fall now, the time for new harvest, new beginnings, and new endings…

There was so much to pick up and so much to leave behind. Gwen felt so full, yet so empty. A hollow pit in her stomach gave her a tinge of nostalgia and regret, but a greater sting gave her happiness and excitement. If she dropped all the things that had been wrecking her, she realized there was just so much to gain. She wanted to get everything she never let herself get all in that short time— but she knew that she would have to wait to get what she wanted. She would have to wait as fall shifted to winter, and winter to spring. She'd have to wait for everything, because nothing could wait for her. But that was alright. She knew it was only fair for everyone. You had to water a plant to make it grow.

"Hey," a sudden voice greeted her.

She looked up, startled from being awakened from her trance, meeting with navy eyes. She gave a small smile. "Hi."

Dan looked down at the sitting girl. "How are you?"

Gwen snorted, but a penitent look quickly overcame her. "Same thing I'd like to ask you," she responded quietly.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

Gwen could see through his pretense with clear eyes. She looked him in the eye, scanning every feature of his face. She was just glad he wasn't hurt further.

"Did you go to Doctor Alex? For your check-up?" Dan asked, again rousing her from her thoughts.

She shook her head gravely. "Are you kidding me? I think you might be the only one who knows I'm _in _this town. If I showed my face, they might kick me out or something." She made sure to omit the part about her criminal record with Ray's mother.

"Anyway." She continued before Dan could interrupt, her voice noticeably faltering. "Do you… think you'll get used to a wheelchair?" The moment the words came out, she wished she could take them back in.

But Dan didn't appear immediately fazed. He laid his fingers delicately on the slender tire of the vehicle, making it halt. "Does it matter?"

She was about to shake her head in shameful anguish, but he pressed on gently.

"In the end, I'll just have to see what good it does me." He paused. "For now, I guess I'll have trouble adjusting, but… I'll deal."

"Oh, _you'll deal_," Gwen snapped in repentance, suddenly angry. "Please, Dan. Just spit it out. Yell at me. Punch me. Hit me. I want you to tell me you hate me." She looked away to hide the soft trickle of tears brimming from her eyes, and at first no reply came.

"I could never hate you," he finally murmured. She looked up at him, and he smiled weakly. "Not in a million years."

Gwen pressed against the tree trunk, at a loss as to how she could continue such a touchy conversation. She lay against it and veered the subject a sharp left. "What do you think of fall?"

Fortunately, Dan didn't say against it. He thought for a moment before wistfully replying, "I guess it's okay. Fall is usually the time for finishing up harvesting and picking. When winter hits, things get pretty lonely, contrary to the busiest season of the year. But…now…" His words dangled off the edge of his sentence.

"I'm sorry," Gwen whispered quietly.

Dan sighed. "Don't be." Then he decided to change the topic of discussion as well. "So what're you gonna do from this point on?"

"W…what do you mean?"

Like she didn't know.

Gwen shrank back. That was the exact question she'd been trying to avoid— because she didn't know. She didn't know what she was going to do anymore. She wanted things to look up, but… she didn't know how to let them.

"What are you gonna do with yourself?" Dan rephrased. "I mean, now that everyone's getting a chance to start over."

Gwen smiled at his careful choice of words, but it came out as a rigid line. "I'm not really sure, you?"

Little did she know, Dan's thoughts were mutual. "I don't really know either."

There was a pensive silence that neither wanted to break. But eventually, Dan was first to speak.

"Will you be staying here?"

"Huh?" The question caught Gwen off guard. She looked up, and was even more surprised to see hopeful eyes.

"Well, I'm wondering," Dan started off, and it was obvious there was more to that than simple curiosity. "I'm pretty sure I am. I'm considering helping out at the blacksmith's, Tai's, for the time being. At least until… you know. I find a better job." He trailed off. "And I was just… hoping you'd stay too or something."

Gwen was unsure how to reply. Again, she didn't have an answer. How was she going to get through life scarce of decision? She opted to smirk at Dan teasingly. "Well, I don't know," she said, just to mock him. "I'm thinking of running away, joining a circus, and never coming back."

Dan rolled his eyes. "I'll die unhappy."

"I'll be at your funeral."

Soft chuckles were exchanged, but Gwen was first to halt. "Hey," she told him softly, now serious. "I'm still thinking about it."

Happiness appeared to have drained out of the disabled man's face, replaced by tiredness and sorrow. "Oh," he replied. "Okay. I…" His eyes descended. "Alright."

She kept quiet, knowing that continuing would just make them both feel worse. Then, for some reason, Gwen got a sudden urge for solitary. "Do you have a pencil with you?" she demanded abruptly.

Dan seemed perplexed, but shuffled through his pocket. "A pen," he said. "Why?"

She didn't elaborate. "Can I borrow it?"

"Sure…" He passed it to her and immediately another request followed.

"Do you have a paper too?"

Again, he went through his pocket. "A small notebook," he began, but Gwen grabbed it without another word.

"Thanks," she said, making herself cozy by the roots of the tree. "But if you don't mind, can I be alone? I want to think."

Dan furrowed his brow, but he caught the contemplative look Gwen gave him. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll… see you around."

He wheeled away as Gwen waved halfheartedly, looking down at the blank paper and then at her pen. She blinked, and before she knew it, thoughts came flooding to her. She scribbled down all she wanted to say, and before she knew it, at least an hour passed. Wrist sore, she lay it against her thigh once every margin and every line of the paper was filled. She rested her head against the tree and closed the notebook, contented.

**xoxo**

_You're never going to believe what happened. _

_It's insane. The last while was just so… crazy! I can't even put it into words!! I feel like a new me, like I've been set in new skin, with new arms and legs… Diary, I haven't felt this wondrous sensation in so long. But it's so retarded, because I sound like a really high, really blissful little Christmas elf and I'm just so awed by how different things can be and how much everything can change in such a short amount of time! _

…_Wow. Run-on sentence much. But what I guess I'm trying to say is… it takes a long time to fix things, and only a short time to mess it up. 'Doh, never mind, that's not what I'm trying to say at all! What I mean is… change happens fast. Much faster than you, and definitely I— would know. Or expect._

_I met Ray! Again! Okay, so I was on the ground, crying in the pouring rain with mud all over my face… not exactly my most flattering moment. But, hey, he was covered in mud too, and he was crying. So that makes two of us. _

_I guess you just want me to get straight to the point. I suppose it's a horrible time to joke, but you know me… always saying things at all the bad moments. Skipping to the point, we met up and… he asked me where the locket was. Just like old times, huh? I told him it was in Sunny Lake again. I don't even know why. I don't know if I was just mocking my past self or what, but… it was the first thing that came to my head. I wasn't gonna go ahead and tell him I lost it! _

…_Because even I could tell he missed _us _just as much as I did. _

_Alright, so then he left. But not before giving me something. Nope, it wasn't a locket. It was a bullet. I suppose the rain had cleansed it, but I could still see remnants of dry blood. It… scared me, to be honest. I never thought Ray would shoot someone. But people change, I guess. And who knows? Maybe he had too. One day, I'll just hope we'll see each other once again. Maybe we can tie up loose ends, and we can restart our friendship. Because I'd really like that. _

_There's also this guy I met. His name is Dan. Not to sound like a fangirl, but… EEEE!! He's reaaaally cute! And nice. And stuff. I, um, accidentally cut of his fingers and paralysed him. I just hope he'll be okay later. And then… well, maaaaybe we can have a future… ehehe… _

_Speaking of the future… I've been thinking a lot. And a lot. And a freakin' lot. About what I'm gonna do with my life from this point on. Dan asked me what I was going to do just a while back, but I didn't know. After much contemplation, and many more analogies, I think I've come to a conclusion. It's right for me, and I want to follow this path. _

_I'm leaving to go to college. I want to take up psychology. Old habits die hard? Pfft, and they come back just as lean and mean. Maybe one day I'll come visit Flower Bud again… just maybe. But until then, my mind is set. I want a future, and I'm not gonna throw away what's left of my life anymore. There's plenty of room for change, and I'll be sure to make the best of that. _

…_I just wonder how Dan will take the news. _

_Great, now I feel all emo. Well, Diary, this is probably gonna be the last entry for a while. I'll probably pull this notebook out between classes… haha, between classes. Sounds like high school all over again. Wish me luck when I tell him, alright? …I'm sure he'll understand. _

_So once again, and for the last time, toodle-oo. Thanks for sticking by me when I needed to vent. Who knows what I'd have done without you. Again, thanks, and I promise you that even though this may be the last entry, it isn't the end of the road. _

**xoxo**

Dia couldn't believe her luck. After her encounter with Bob, her jealousy towards Gina and her affection and grief towards Alex seemed to have vanished into thin air. After hearing the news on Blue's condition, she and the farmer talked… and talked… and talked. Not just about Blue, though. But about each other. Dia found that in many ways they were alike, and in many ways they also differed. Yet there was a small click that filled the gap between, synchronizing what could be and what couldn't.

She found a smile set permanently on her lips.

They could.

Just that instant, Martha strolled through the door, a laundry basket tucked under her arm, catching Dia's presence immediately. Her eyes trailed to her lips, which were uncharacteristically curved.

Dia realized she was being watched and quirked up a brow. "What?" she said defensively.

"Oh, I don't know. You've just seemed so down lately it's weird to see you smile like that." She boosted the basket up. "Not saying it's a bad thing. A very welcome change, in fact."

Dia merely laughed, finding no better way to respond. When the hysteria died, she blinked and whispered, "Thank you, Martha."

The old woman looked confused. "Whatever are you thanking me for?"

"Oh, you know…" She waited for the punchline. "Just… not giving up on me when I gave up on you. I really appreciate it."

Her old eyes twinkled. "I'm just doing my job, sweetie," she told her dutifully, and headed to the other room.

"Where are you going?" Dia called after her, not wanting to be alone.

"I have to get Alex," Martha replied. Then she shifted uncomfortably. "Did he already tell you about…"

"Yes," Dia replied, with more force than intended. Then her state of joy fell into a bleak abyss. "He has."

Martha tried to compose herself quickly. "I'm sorry," she immediately apologized. "I just… that was such a bad time, I had no right to… say—"

"It's fine," Dia interrupted briefly, and Martha looked crestfallen.

She found nothing more to say, so she proceeded to finish with the laundry. The instant she twisted open the doorknob and pulled it open, Dia's eyes following her, two unmistakable people were revealed.

Alex and Gina were wrapped in each other's arms, in a furious, heated liplock. They gasped and snapped away when they realized they had just been caught, and their eyes traveled nervously towards what they expected to be a shattered Dia.

But instead, shock zapped through all, Dia included, when they saw a giggling girl in her place, her shoulders tittering as she stifled laughs into her hands. "I don't mind!" she proclaimed to the shocked duo.

Then the door opened and Bob stepped in. Dia narrowed her eyes at him, and then back at the three doctors.

"Really," she said. Then she looked at Bob and he beamed back at her.

Alex rubbed his head, looking sheepish and profound. "Well, that was certainly unexpected," he said, a rare blush on his cheeks. "I, er… not to expound or anything, but Dia, do you really not mind…? I mean, it's just…"

"No. I don't, really." She smiled genuinely. "I think it's all okay now."

"Oh… wow." Gina, too, was blushing madly. "So it's…?"

"Really," Dia confirmed to the disbelieving girl.

Then out of Alex's pocket, a familiar slip of paper fluttered to the ground.

"Let me get that," Dia chirped. She bent down and scooped it up before Alex could respond, looking pale and sick. "Here you go." She extended her hand to give it back, but her eyes scanned the paper automatically. Things like _entire household _and _only child _and _of age _caught her eye and she blanched.

The only thing that snapped her out of her thoughts was Alex grabbing the paper with a harsh, swift movement. He looked pained as Dia stared up at him with wide eyes.

"Dia," he said quietly. "I know this is sudden, Dia, but… there's something I haven't told you yet."

She felt her heart break, oblivious to Bob putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "What, is it something bad again?" _Please no. _

"Oh, no, of course not," he answered hastily.

"You're free to say it here," Dia began, so Alex sighed uncomfortably.

"Erm, you know that piece of paper…?" he began.

"The one I just picked up…? With the stuff on it that said—"

"It was Elvira's will."

Her heart nearly stopped, overcome by shock. She could barely register the words. But Alex continued relentlessly.

"She wants you to inherit everything, Dia…" He paused as eeriness filled the room. "And everything… includes the Mountain Villa she owns in Mineral Town." He waited, as if letting Dia soak in the information.

"…I don't understand," she finally uttered. "Why are you telling me this?"

His next jumble of words seemed forced. "She wants you to move in and take care of it."

"W…what?"

"She wants you to move in and take care of it," Alex repeated, his voice shaking with each word. "She wants you to go to Mineral Town."

And all bodies went still.

**xoxo**

Jamie watched bleakly as Carl and Eve headed for the door, Carl tugging rather violently on Eve's hand. Jack was practically grazing against Eve as he leaned in to say bye. Carl shot him a death glare amidst their "See you later!" "It was nice meeting you!"s and finally, when Jamie couldn't take it anymore, he stomped up and slammed the door in Jack's face.

Jack sank onto Jamie's couch, sighing contentedly. "That was fun," he pointed out. "Eve's a really nice girl."

"A very nice, very engaged girl," Jamie said through a scowl. He was just about to get up and leave himself when he paused. "Wait a minute. This is my house. Why are you on my couch?" He noted the glass of water in his hands for the first time. "Why are you drinking my water?" His face contorted angrily. "Get _out _of my _house_!" he jeered.

Jack sprang up. "Okay, okay," he scoffed. "Geez, just when I was getting comfy."

"Go get comfy at your own house!" Jamie snapped. He followed Jack by the heels until he was outside the doorstep. His hand clasped upon the inside of the door as he moved to slam it, but a manila envelope shoved in his mailbox caught his eye.

"You've got mail!" Jack voiced rather annoyingly as Jamie reached out to take it.

He ignored him as he read. He was taking an excruciatingly long amount of time, however, so Jack started making jokes about him, like about the ridiculously big hat he wore, or the "way-outdated, mega tacky poncho" around his neck. Finally, Jamie went still, and he didn't even look angry.

"What?" Jack demanded. He slipped the paper out of Jamie's grasp, but he didn't even pull it back. After running through it once, then twice, he too felt suddenly cold.

_Dear Jamie of Flower Bud Village, _

_Greetings from Forget-Me-Not Valley! We have received notice concerning your "amazing, super-fantastic, manure-flippin'-sweet farm skills" and have accepted your application. You, and Jack of the Jack Ranch, are accepted as the newest farmers of our town! Please call this number (Takakura) for more details, and thank you again for the application! _

_Mayor Thomas of Mineral Town_

_District of Farming Industries_

_P.S. It is required for _two _farmers to work at Forget-Me-Not because of the state the farm is in. The town has come to a conclusion that one farmer simply is not enough. The ferry will come to pick you up in exactly three days, so be there! _

The letter fell out of Jamie's hands. "Jack, please tell me you did not send a fucking application in my name to the fucking District of Farming Industries concerning my fucking amazing, super-fantastic, manure-flippin' sweet farm skills."

Jack intoned a nervous laugh. "I-I never knew it was an actual _district_," he countered defensively.

Jamie glared at him more viciously than he ever had before.

"Uh… it'll be fun?"

**xoxo**

_The following day, Flower Bud was in an uproar. Little did they know, this was only just the beginning to a new twisted enterprise; a ride many were about to re-take…_

_But somewhere far, far into the horizon, a young girl lay lifelessly from atop her grandfather's grave. And though no one had bothered to move her, and she remained like a statue of clay, nobody else had realized what lay concealed under her arm. _

_No had realized she'd stretched out and written, with the tip of her burgundy finger, her name in blood._

**xoxo**

**After-read spoilers: **Gwen doesn't know Ray's dead, if you're wondering. Oh, and I'm still not in college myself, so correct me if I made any mistake in that _very _minor segment…

**Background: **(Hah, this story is so special it totally deserves a background XD). Well, originally, this story came out of the blue. On a pleasant, rainy July 14th, I was sitting on my bed. And I saw a notebook. I was like, ooh, a notebook! What should I do with it? Burn it? DESTROY IT? But then I opted to write a story. And the first chapter was what came out, but of course I edited it on my precious (cough, crappy) laptop. All the other chapters seemed to come naturally.

And you'd think it'd be hard to write without an initial plot. I thought I'd be writing myself into a wall because I never planned ahead, but I found it surprisingly easy to improvise as I connected smaller details. Hah, sounds like I'm talking about a puzzle.

Anyway, this story isn't really intended to be horror. If I were to write an ACTUAL horror, well... things would be much more twisted. But I hate creepy things, and believe it or not, I despise horror movies. So this spawned from hell knows where XD

**Final Notes: **Okay, well, like I said, there's gonna be an epilogue. And the above kinda obviously states/foreshadows it. I'm going to edit this story, just not immediately, but the plot WILL NOT CHANGE.

You know what? I'm actually kind of getting ahead of myself. This may as well be one of those endings where it's incomplete but actually complete if you think about the outcome yourself. But… nah, I'm not gonna torture you. The last few chapters have been much too jolly. All that will fall before you know it.

The sequel will take place in Flower Bud (possibly, but most likely not), Mineral Town, Forget-Me-Not Valley, and probably an AU. (Correct me if I'm wrong, doesn't AU mean alternate universe?)

Before this ends (forever), I'd like some shout-outs to go to **klutz586, The Scarlet Sky, **and **Radioactive X-Naut **for reviewing every (er, mostly for the latter) chapter in the freakin' story. It meant more than you could imagine. And go **RainbowMelody** for reading since the very beginning :D

Anyway, hope you stick by for the sequel. No idea when that's gonna be out, so keep your eyes peeled… ew, imagine peeling your eyes out. Ew o.o

Ahh. I don't want to say bye. But I have to. But toodle-oo, and at 67 reviews, I deem Her Name In Blood COMPLETE. Now, just to make your eyes sting…

**_BYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYEBYE:D_ **

…I'm so mature.


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